According to a recent report by NPD Group, Android is outselling both Apple and RIM in terms of handsets sold. Clocking in at 33%, Android has toppled RIM’s top spot, which they’ve held for the past 3 years. And the top five phones, all from Verizon and Sprint: Motorola DROID, HTC DROID Incredible, HTC EVO 4G, HTC Hero, and HTC DROID Eris. I’m surprised there’s no T-Mobile phones in there considering their long history with Android. But still the point is clear, Android is here to stay, and it won’t stop growing any time soon.
In the UK, from the first three months of 2010 to the second quarter of the year, the sales of Android smartphones have grown 330%, yup that’s more than tripled. With Android phones counting one in every eight contract handsets sold between April and June, compared to one in 33 for the first quarter of the year.
Android’s overall market share jumped from 3% up to 13.2%, not a whole lot, but it’s growing fast. Which brings us to Apple, who saw a decline in market share, from 75% down to 64%. iPhone users are jumping ship, and many of them are going with Android.
RIM also saw market growth, going from 2 up to 7% market share.
Google has just introduced the App Inventor for Android. Which is a tool that allows developers and non-developers alike to easily create their own Android applications. Mostly geared toward the education sector for now, Google has opened up invitations to try out the application in Google Labs. Hopefully this will get more people interested in mobile development for the Android platform, and not just create a flood of useless apps in the Market.
You can sign up to try it out, or check out the demo video below.
Good news for all you Froyo lovers out there, and really, who isn’t? Google is spreading the love of frozen yogurt this week by pushing out the FRF83 update to the Nexus One, the official final Android 2.2 update. Yes kids, it’s here.
As well as releasing the source code for developers, which means 2.2 will be ported to other phones with the quickness, root may be required.
Probably one of the most exciting features of Android 2.2 is the new Dalvik JIT compiler. Some of you know what that is, but to those that don’t here’s all you need to know. It improves overall CPU-bound code performance by two to five times compared to version 2.1. That means that even if you have a slow phone, it will feel like you just upgraded and overclocked.
Look for speculation and rumors of 2.2 coming to other phones soon in the coming months. Expect the Motorola Droid to be near the front of the pack as it’s been in the past, as well as the MyTouch series from T-Mobile.
When Android was first introduced way back in 2008, it came to public knowledge that Google had a remote “killswitch” to remove applications from your phone. Immediately everyone was all up in arms with speculation that Google would be just like Apple with the iPhone and have it under a dictatorship. Fast-forward to now and we know that’s just not true. Actually quite the opposite.
Google recently used their removal feature for two applications that violated the Android Market terms of service. And did a really good job of letting everyone know and also why they did so.
Recently, we became aware of two free applications built by a security researcher for research purposes. These applications intentionally misrepresented their purpose in order to encourage user downloads, but they were not designed to be used maliciously, and did not have permission to access private data — or system resources beyond permission.INTERNET. As the applications were practically useless, most users uninstalled the applications shortly after downloading them.
Gizmodo has a very good review of the latest flavor of Android, 2.2 aka Froyo. Highlighting improvements such as speed increases and UI consistencies as well as the new features such as Wifi tethering and automatic application upgrades, and also citing Flash as an upside and a downside, which I tend to agree with. This article will definitely make you salivate for some frozen yogurt love on you Android device. Currently the Nexus One is the only one lined up for the upgrade, which has been said to come in a week or two, although some lucky ducks have gotten it already. And it’s been hacked onto the HTC EVO 4G already, thanks to some crafty developers, as well as onto the G1 and MyTouch. We also speculate that the Verizon Droid and Droid Incredible should have it before too long.
It may come as a surprise to some Nexus One owners that their device is already 802.11n capable from a hardware aspect, but the software doesn’t support it yet. Sort of like how the Motorola CLIQ has an FM radio receiver, but the Android 1.5 that it ships with doesn’t make use of it. Google has already hinted at all the new features coming with Android 2.2 coming as soon as next month, and we’ve seen evidence of some of it such as automatic application updating, but it’s a wait-n-see game till we get our hands on it. There is also a rumor of possible trackball color changing, such as the Blackberry Pearl did.
Despite somewhat sluggish initial sales of Google’s Nexus One phone, HTC CEO Peter Chou is calling it a success.
According to a story on Forbes.com, Chou said the phone was a technical achievement based on its design and that lived up to Google’s goal of showing how good Android could be.
He declined to comment specific sales figures, but said that, “Considering Google didn’t do retail or marketing for it, the Nexus One is doing pretty well.”
Mobile analytics firm Flurry estimates that the Nexus One sold roughly 135,000 units since its launch on January 5th. This figure disappointed folks on Wall Street, but when you consider that it’s only sold on-line, and compare it to say, Palm, who sold 408,000 phones (in retail stores, with heavier marketing) last quarter, it’s pretty damn impressive.
T-mobile customers had the exclusive Nexus One love from Google for long enough. They just announced that you can now order your Nexus One with 3G bands for AT&T in the US and Rogers in Canada. The only downside is no subsidies here, you’re going to have to plunk down the whole $529 to get the slickest Android phone straight from Google.
Here’s the official announcement:
In early January, we announced the Nexus One, the first device sold through Google’s web store. The Nexus One is unlocked, which means you can use it with a SIM card from most GSM operators worldwide. Currently the device is compatible with most 3G networks, including T-Mobile in the US. However, there are some carriers that have different 3G frequencies, such as AT&T in the US and Rogers Wireless in Canada, so users with these SIM cards can only access 2G or EDGE networks on their Nexus One.
Starting today, an additional version of the Nexus One is available from the Google web store that is compatible with AT&T’s 3G network. This new model can be purchased as an unlocked device without a service plan. In addition to AT&T’s 3G network, this device will also run on Rogers Wireless in Canada. And like the first version of the Nexus One, it can be used with most GSM operators globally.
Additionally, Nexus One devices can now be shipped to Canada from Google’s web store, and will work with a SIM from Rogers Wireless.
Seidio has come out with a mindblowing 3200mAh battery for the Google Nexus One. That’s double the capacity of the stock battery. Selling for a rather steep 70 bones, but it includes a new back cover, and seems like kind of a deal when you compare to the $54 1600 mAh battery they also have for the Nexus. And the extra capacity adds only 6mm to the already super thin Nexus. We’d love to see some torture tests on this monster battery to see how well it outperforms the stock battery.
Seidio invests in extensive research to find the best and most powerful battery components on the market. We carefully select top quality cells for our batteries to ensure the highest level of safety, quality, and performance. Our research, knowledge, and expertise give us the ability to create batteries that provide maximum capacity in their comparable space. This large capacity Innocell Extended Life Battery is for the avid traveler who can’t always get to a charger. It has double the capacity of the original battery and will keep you charged and ready to go, even with heavy phone and data usage. It comes with a contoured black replacement door featuring Seidio’s signature soft touch coating and a textured bar to mimic the phone’s original design.
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