iPhoneIndiaBlog.com

In an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek, Google CEO Larry Page said that despite Steve Jobs’s rather public hatred, “the Android differences were actually for show.” Page claimed that, “For a lot of companies, it’s useful for them to feel like they have an obvious competitor and to rally around that. Steve Jobs famously vowed to spend his dying breath and all of Apple’s cash to destroy Google’s Android operating system.

I think the Android differences were actually for show. I had a relationship with Steve. I wouldn’t say I spent a lot of time with him over the years, but I saw him periodically. Curiously enough, actually, he requested that meeting. He sent me an e-mail and said: “Hey, you want to get together and chat?” I said, “Sure, I’ll come over.” And we had a very nice talk. We always did when we had a discussion generally.

According to the Steve Jobs biography by Walter Isaacson, when you became CEO you went to Jobs for advice. I know you had your differences at the end around Android, but what did you take from him as a mentor and a friend?

A U.S. judge ruled in a patent dispute, asking Google Inc. and a Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. (MMI) unit to provide over to Apple Inc. (AAPL) information about Google’s development its Android operating system, Andrew Harris reports for Bloomberg.

“The Motorola Mobility unit and Google must also hand over to Apple information about Google’s pending $12.5 billion acquisition of the mobile-phone maker, U.S. Circuit Judge Richard A. Posner in Chicago ruled today,” Harris reports. “Posner’s decision came in a patent lawsuit filed in 2010 by Cupertino, California-based Apple against Motorola Mobility, which has countersued.”

“Posner, a federal appeals court judge who is presiding over the trial court-level case, has scheduled back-to-back trials before separate juries starting June 11. The first will address six Apple patents, and the second will cover three Motorola patents.”

Posner, a federal appeals court judge who is presiding over the trial court-level case, has scheduled back-to-back trials before separate juries starting June 11. The first will address six Apple patents, and the second will cover three Motorola patents.

“Motorola shall be expected to obtain full and immediate compliance by Google with Apple’s liability discovery demands,” the judge said in a February order.

[via - Bloomberg]

I found Cult Of Mac’s last weeks Friday night fight question interesting. Basically CultOfMac’s Friday Night Fights, is a new series of weekly questions about which is better: Apple or Google – iOS or Android. Interesting stuff.

So last weeks fight was “What’s Better? The iPhone’s 3.5-Inch Display, or Android’s 4+ Inch Superphones?”‘

According to me the winner is iPhone’s 3.5-inch screen. Designer Dustin Curtis went on to show why Apple chose a 3.5-inch display over a 4-inch one:

For the complete coverage on this, go to Cultofandroid.com

Intel is finally jumping into the smartphone space. I think this phone looks somewhat like the iPhone. Take a look:

These smartphones will be utilizing the Medfield mobile processor. The MIT’s Technology Review blog reports that it was able to test a number of reference devices Intel created to show off the capabilities of its upcoming chipsets. The Technology Review team actually got their hands on a pair of Medfield prototypes running Android: a phone similar in size to the iPhone, running Gingerbread, and a tablet close to the iPad 2 in thickness, running Ice Cream Sandwich.

According to the site, one such device was a smartphone similar in size to the iPhone 4 but lighter. The phone ran Android Gingerbread and was capable of playing back Blu-ray quality video or streaming it to a television in full HD. Technology Review also says it tested a tablet running Ice Cream Sandwich that was more impressive than any Android tablet currently on the market.

The Intel tablet, which uses the same Medfield chip as the phone, runs Ice Cream Sandwich. With a slightly larger screen than the iPad 2, it was about the same in thickness and weight, and their short trial suggests that it was much nicer to use than many current Android tablets. Which isn’t that hard, but it sounds promising.

Intel is expected to have the reference devices on display at the Consumer Electronics Show next month and Medfield-powered devices will launch in the first half of 2012.

Source – Gizmodo

Market Research firm GfK has shared their report last week that shows user loyalty to their respective smartphones almost similar to that of last year. The survey of 4,500 consumers in various regions around the world and found that 84% of current iPhone owners plan to purchase another iPhone as their next handset. 60% of Android users plan to stay loyal according to the study, and 48% of BlackBerry owners intend to purchase another BlackBerry smartphone as their next device

Apple is clearly ahead of the game, but developments next year will challenge that,” GfK analyst Ryan Garner told Reuters without elaborating. The consensus at GfK paints a slightly different picture, however, as the firm suggests that loyal customers are difficult to sway. ”The scope for brands to lure customers from rivals has diminished and the richest rewards will go to those providers that can create the most harmonious user experience and develop this brand loyalty,” the firm said in its report.

Source – Reuters

Walter Isaacson’s authorized biography of Steve Jobs reveals that when HTC introduced iPhone-like Android phone, Jobs was livid and equated it with a “grand theft”.

“I will spend my last dying breath if I need to, and I will spend every penny of Apple’s $40 billion in the bank, to right this wrong,” Jobs said. “I’m going to destroy Android, because it’s a stolen product. I’m willing to go thermonuclear war on this.”

Jobs reportedly told then Google CEO and former Apple board member, Eric Schmidt:

“I don’t want your money. If you offer me $5 billion, I won’t want it. I’ve got plenty of money. I want you to stop using our ideas in Android, that’s all I want.”

That meeting may have taken place in March 2010, as Jobs and Schmidt were photographed meeting for coffee in Palo Alto on March 26, before reportedly agreeing to go somewhere “more private” to continue their conversation. Wow, those were harsh words, really harsh.

Source – Yahoo

Was reading this amazing article on 9to5Mac. I believe exactly the same, it will be very difficult for Android tablets to beat iPad, simply because Apple has iOS which is highly stable and innovative and it has the App Store to add to its popularity. Google has an average Honeycomb/Android and an average Android Market to compete.

Gartner today revised their tablet numbers in the face of iPad’s dominance and weakening competition. Of the 63.6 million media tablets projected to ship this year, Gartner expects Apple’s iPad to account for nearly three-quarters of the global market, of 73.4 percent. The figure is based on an estimated 47 million iPads this year, a 9.6 percentage points drop from the 83 percent market share in 2010.

Apple delivers a superior and unified user experience across its hardware, software and services. Unless competitors can respond with a similar approach, challenges to Apple’s position will be minimal. Apple had the foresight to create this market and in doing that planned for it as far as component supplies such as memory and screen. This allowed Apple to bring the iPad out at a very competitive price and no compromise in experience among the different models that offer storage and connectivity options.

Besides iOS and Android, no other platform in Gartner’s table has more than five percent share of the tablet market in 2011.

Chitika’s new research findings shows that Verizon’s iPhone has started to eat into the carrier dominance of Android. At over 51% just in March, Verizon’s share of all US phones using Google’s OS is now down to 41% as of August. With Sprint and T-Mobile flat, most of the shift went into AT&T’s 8.7, where its first high-end Android phones like the HTC Inspire 4G and Motorola Atrix helped draw users in.

While Verizon still has four of the top five Android smartphones (Droid X, HTC Droid Incredible, Samsung Fascinate, Droid), its market share is clearly down. In contrast, AT&T’s share of the Android phone market is increasing, with devices such at the HTC Inspire gaining significant popularity among smartphone users. Both Sprint and T-Mobile remain relatively stable, thanks to the stability of their respective flagship devices (HTC Evo, MyTouch 4G)

It’s more likely that Apple is actively cutting into Android’s share on Verizon, Chitika said. CDMA iPhones are now 10.3 percent of the total iPhone space at 2.3 million, and the GSM iPhone family is still widely known to be tops in smartphones on AT&T.

ChangeWave Research shared some very interesting information about iOS and Android this time as well, a poll conducted of 4,163 consumers in June focused primarily on the smartphone market in North America, with 89% of respondents being from the U.S. and 11 percent outside of America.

The survey found that 46 % of consumers who plan to buy a smartphone in the next 90 days prefer a device running Apple’s iOS, which powers the iPhone. In second place in the latest survey was Google Android, which 32% of planned smartphone buyers said they will choose.

AppleInsider goes on to say that, the gains of Apple and Google came at the expense of rivals, as Research in Motion’s BlackBerry line lost one point since March. The BlackBerry’s 4 percent share is the lowest level ever seen in a ChangeWave survey, and is far away from its high of 32 percent in September of 2008.

The data showing consumer preferences for the iPhone aligns with previous polls that have told a similar story. Last November, ChangeWave reported that 34 percent of non-AT&T smartphone buyers said they wished they could buy Apple’s iPhone. At the time, the iPhone was exclusive to AT&T

Beatweek Magazine share this cool post on why people dont choose iPhone and somehow get stuck with an Android phone. Dont miss this one please. Here is the link to full article. As iPhone 5 release date is nearing, now is a good time to examine why you’re just now buying your first iPhone, if indeed you skipped the first four generations. Here are the top 5 reasons you got stuck with an Android phone leading up to the iPhone 5 release even though it was never the phone you really wanted.

You got duped: Geeks consider Android (which is built on Linux) to be a part of their religion. They place more importance on the hackability of a device than anything along the lines of practicality, functionality, security, consistency, usability, or desirability. As such, part of their religion is to steer mainstream folks away from devices like the iPhone 5 in favor of their Android fetish, in the hopes of “converting” as many mainstream folks into geekdom as possible.

You worship your carrier: Just as keeps worship hackable platforms, many among the mainstream have an equal worship for their cellular carrier. Nevermind that study after survey shows the differences in network quality, customer service, and churn rate to be minimal; consumers who are embedded with a particular carrier tend to want to stick with it at all costs. If that means not getting the iPhone they want because their preferred carrier doesn’t offer it, then so be it.

You’re cheap: Even though you’re willing to pay a hundred bucks a month for your cellular bill (for a cost of over a thousand dollars a year), you had a brain fart and thought you could skimp by settling for a cheap or free Android phone instead of ponying up fifty bucks to two hundred bucks for an iPhone.

You weren’t paying attention: Even the most intelligent and tasteful among us end up expressing no taste at all when it comes to certain types of purchases. It’s why you see the millionaire in ripped-up clothes, he well-dressed person driving a Ford Focus, or even the otherwise on-top-of-it person who can’t be bothered to bathe regularly. When you went to buy your last phone, you simply didn’t care enough to express any taste when you bought it.

You’re a geek: Fine. So be it. Geeks are the only folks who actually belong on an Android phone, as they place its packability and tinker-toy qualities (which they’ll dogmatically refer to as “openness” without any ability to explain what they even mean by that) over the practicality and mainstream suitability of the iPhone 5.

[via - Beatweek Magazine]

Nielsen research has shared its latest survey on iPhone and Android popularity. While Android owners still make up most of the smartphone market at 38% compared to the iPhone’s 27%, iPhone has seen the most growth in the past few months. Macworld reports that:

From February to May of this year, the iPhone jumped from 10% to 17% of newly purchased phones, according to Nielsen. The iPhone’s steady rise is likely attributable in part to the February launch of the Verizon iPhone 4. Android, however, saw no growth during the same time period, remaining at 27%.

And AppleInsider goes on to report that, the iPhone and devices running Android control the lion’s share of sales in smartphone market, representing 44% of all phone sales, including feature phones. Behind them is Research in Motion, which held a 6% share of sales in the May poll, down from 11% in the previous survey.

Todd Haselton of BGR reports “Yankee Group is set to release its European Mobile User Study next month and the research firm has just provided a quick glimpse into its early findings”:

Reportedly, 40% of European smartphone buyers plan to purchase an iPhone as their next device. 19% plan to purchase an Android powered device, 17% have their eye on a BlackBerry, and 15% plan to buy a Nokia smartphone. “These findings highlight the continued strength of Apple in the European smartphone market and, in particular, its phenomenal brand appeal,” Yankee Group research vice president, Declan Lonergan, said. “The data also highlights the enormous challenges faced by Nokia and RIM to retain mind share and market share in this increasingly dynamic and competitive marketplace.” In addition, the firm found that employees argued they are 58% more productive while on long-distance travel trips when they have a tablet in tow.

Android continues to lead the US market with over a third of all smartphones and is still thought to have similar worldwide share. Losing Europe by such a wide margin could still be a blow to Google’s ambitions. The largest Android supporters, most notably HTC and Samsung, depend heavily on European sales for their market share and no longer have a safe haven at Verizon in the US.

[via - BGR]