Will Apple's iPhone reshape the mobile phone market? Are there better devices actually available already? We put the iPhone head-to-head with its competition to see how it stacks up.
Gadget aficionados will no doubt have heard that Apple is launching the iPhone, its first mobile phone, in the US on 29 June. Here in Australia, though, we'll have to wait until next year to get our grubby mitts on the sleek multimedia device. Apple recently published information comparing its hot little handset with the already available Nokia N95, Samsung BlackJack, Palm Treo 750 and the Blackberry Curve 8300.
Apple also recently upped the stated battery life of the iPhone from five to eight hours of talk time, 250 hours of standby, five hours of Internet browsing, seven hours of video playback and 24 hours of audio playback -- 10 hours longer than Apple's hard-disk based iPods.
Apple's iPhone Competitor Data Chart
Image credit: Apple
But why is the iPhone generating so much hype? It's just a phone after all, isn't it? While it does have an elegant design and attractive interface, what could be in this device that's revolutionary? We compare it side-by-side with the N95, the top-of-the line handset from the world's No. 1 phone maker, at the moment, Nokia. We've also colour coded our table to indicate in green which device's feature, in our opinion, comes out on top.
Apple iPhone
Apple iPhone
Nokia N95
Nokia N95
Operating system Mac OS X Symbian S60
3G No Yes (HSDPA-enhanced)
Camera resolution 2 megapixels 5 megapixels
Browser Safari Nokia Web Browser with Mini map
E-mail Displays HTML-rich; Push IMAP (Yahoo); IMAP/POP3 POP3/SMTP/IMAP
Music player iTunes RealPlayer / Nokia Media Player
GPS No Yes
Touchscreen Yes (multi-touch sensors) No
Screen 8.9cm (320x480 pixels) 6.4cm (240x320 pixels)
Weight 136g 120g
Memory 4GB/8GB 160MB
Processor speed Unknown 330MHz
Expansion slot None microSD
Replaceable battery No Yes
MMS (for sending pictures and video) No Yes
IM (instant messaging) No Yes
Video calling No Yes
Video capture Unknown 640 x 480 (30 frames per second)
VoIP No Yes
YouTube Yes Yes
User can install 3rd-party apps No Yes
Accelerometer changes screen orientation when rotated Yes No*
Spell checker Yes No
Ambient light sensor (dims screen in low light) Yes Yes
Proximity sensor (turns screen off when put up to your ear) Yes No
Video output to TV No Yes
Visual voicemail Yes No
Threaded SMS Yes No
Browse music by album covers Yes No
Flickr integration No Yes
Supports stereo Bluetooth (A2DP) Unknown Yes
Locked to carrier Yes No
Availability 2008 Now
Price US$499 - 4GB, US$599 8GB (~AU$590, AU$708) - 2 year contract AU$1379 outright
* The Nokia N95 has an accelerometer built-in, which can be used for applications including Activity Monitor and MovingBall.
Both Nokia and Apple offer guided tours of their super-dooper devices on their respective Web sites.
We'd like to hear your thoughts on the iPhone versus the competition. Leave your comments below.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Billionth iPhone App Downloader Scores Freebies; Developer Wins Too
Nine months after Apple began selling apps for the iPhone and iPod Touch, 13-year-old Connor Mulcahey of Weston, Connecticut downloaded the billionth application from the iTunes store.
Poetically, it was a free app.
Mulcahey, barely old enough to have qualified for the contest, will win tens of thousands of dollars in Apple hardware and software for his fateful download of Bump, a free app that lets people exchange contact info by holding iPhones and bumping fists.
He's not the only winner. Bump Technology also stands to gain from having its app mentioned in the first paragraph of an Apple announcement.
The company's free app (paid version soon) is simple but potentially useful. Enter your phone number, address, e-mail address, and photo, and you'll be able to beam any or all of that information to another iPhone or iPod Touch user who also has the app installed with a simple fist-bump greeting gesture. Contact information gets swapped over an encrypted internet connection, not Bluetooth or an ad-hoc WiFi connection, but that could change this summer when Apple enables peer-to-peer connections on the devices.
Apple itself makes 30 cents on the dollar from the sale of paid apps — about the same rate it commands from recording artists and record labels. (If developers really are the new rock stars, it makes sense that iTunes pays them what it pays actual rock stars.)
Apple, predictably, is celebrating the latest in its long run of iPhone- and iPod-related successes.
"The revolutionary App Store has been a phenomenal hit with iPhone and iPod touch users around the world, and we'd like to thank our customers and developers for helping us achieve the astonishing milestone of one billion apps downloaded," stated Apple senior vice president of worldwide product marketing Philip Schiller. "In nine months, the App Store has completely revolutionized the mobile industry and this is only the beginning."
It's true that the App Store revolutionized the mobile industry. Apple did this by letting developers hawk wares directly to consumers, rather than forcing them to deal with cellphone carriers, who forced them through lengthy approval processes, horded screen space, and generally formed a blockade between mobile developers and users. Now that Apple has broken that deadlock, other smartphone platforms are developing along similar lines.
And it's impressive that iPhone and iPod Touch users have downloaded a billion apps from the store, since (as we confirmed today with Apple) its download tally does not include updates to previously-downloaded apps.
But the road to the billionth download hasn't been entirely smooth.
In the early days of the App Store, developers seemed generally happy with the process of submitting apps (Pandora chief technology officer Tom Conrad, formerly of Apple, told us before the App Store launched that his team preferred developing for the iPhone to developing for the web).
But a flurry of headlines about youngsters making millions by selling apps ranging from the useful (HopStop, Credit Card Terminal) to the inane (flatulence simulators) has stimulated a gold rush that challenges Apple's ability to keep up with the torrent of apps being submitted. The company has already approved over 35,000 apps for inclusion in the store, and as Schiller said, "this is only the beginning."
Poetically, it was a free app.
Mulcahey, barely old enough to have qualified for the contest, will win tens of thousands of dollars in Apple hardware and software for his fateful download of Bump, a free app that lets people exchange contact info by holding iPhones and bumping fists.
He's not the only winner. Bump Technology also stands to gain from having its app mentioned in the first paragraph of an Apple announcement.
The company's free app (paid version soon) is simple but potentially useful. Enter your phone number, address, e-mail address, and photo, and you'll be able to beam any or all of that information to another iPhone or iPod Touch user who also has the app installed with a simple fist-bump greeting gesture. Contact information gets swapped over an encrypted internet connection, not Bluetooth or an ad-hoc WiFi connection, but that could change this summer when Apple enables peer-to-peer connections on the devices.
Apple itself makes 30 cents on the dollar from the sale of paid apps — about the same rate it commands from recording artists and record labels. (If developers really are the new rock stars, it makes sense that iTunes pays them what it pays actual rock stars.)
Apple, predictably, is celebrating the latest in its long run of iPhone- and iPod-related successes.
"The revolutionary App Store has been a phenomenal hit with iPhone and iPod touch users around the world, and we'd like to thank our customers and developers for helping us achieve the astonishing milestone of one billion apps downloaded," stated Apple senior vice president of worldwide product marketing Philip Schiller. "In nine months, the App Store has completely revolutionized the mobile industry and this is only the beginning."
It's true that the App Store revolutionized the mobile industry. Apple did this by letting developers hawk wares directly to consumers, rather than forcing them to deal with cellphone carriers, who forced them through lengthy approval processes, horded screen space, and generally formed a blockade between mobile developers and users. Now that Apple has broken that deadlock, other smartphone platforms are developing along similar lines.
And it's impressive that iPhone and iPod Touch users have downloaded a billion apps from the store, since (as we confirmed today with Apple) its download tally does not include updates to previously-downloaded apps.
But the road to the billionth download hasn't been entirely smooth.
In the early days of the App Store, developers seemed generally happy with the process of submitting apps (Pandora chief technology officer Tom Conrad, formerly of Apple, told us before the App Store launched that his team preferred developing for the iPhone to developing for the web).
But a flurry of headlines about youngsters making millions by selling apps ranging from the useful (HopStop, Credit Card Terminal) to the inane (flatulence simulators) has stimulated a gold rush that challenges Apple's ability to keep up with the torrent of apps being submitted. The company has already approved over 35,000 apps for inclusion in the store, and as Schiller said, "this is only the beginning."
Facebook Users Approve Terms Of Use
Facebook members will own and control their own information under the social networking site's new policies.
Users this week voted on a new set of terms and conditions, and most users who voted approved of a new set of Facebook Principles and Statement of Rights and Responsibilities. Along with a forthcoming new Privacy Policy, the documents represent a new Bill of Rights, so to speak, for the Facebook nation.
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Truevert is based on OrcaTecs patent pending Information Discovery Toolkit. It is not an ontology, thesaurus, taxonomy, or dictionary. It is based on understanding terms in their context. We talk to TrueVert and get a demo of the software. Mashery provides scalable on-demand infrastructure for managing your APIs. Web 2.0 Panel: The Web has changed the way politicians raise money, it has transformed the level of engagement people have with the political process, and it will help shape policy and presidential agenda.
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The Web site put forth the terms and statement after an earlier revision of the terms upset members and advocacy groups. The changes increase user control and privacy protection while improving account deletion and limiting sublicenses and reducing data exchanges between application developers.
The move resulted from online discussions among users and the company. It drew immediate praise from users and advocacy groups.
"We are pleased with the outcome," Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, said in a statement released Friday. "Facebook addressed several privacy problems that EPIC had identified."
EPIC, which had threatened two months ago to file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission, also praised members who campaigned for increased privacy protections. The group said that the changes reaffirm key privacy principles for Web 2.0 applications.
"There will always be privacy issues with Facebook and other popular web services," Rotenberg said. "The need for a comprehensive privacy framework is clear. But this week Facebook took an important step in support of user privacy, and we support the outcome."
InformationWeek has published an in-depth report on the business uses of social networks. Download the report here (registration required).
Users this week voted on a new set of terms and conditions, and most users who voted approved of a new set of Facebook Principles and Statement of Rights and Responsibilities. Along with a forthcoming new Privacy Policy, the documents represent a new Bill of Rights, so to speak, for the Facebook nation.
More Internet Insights
White Papers
* Securing Code Transfer with Signing: A Technical Overview
* Code-Signing Certificates: What are they? How are they used?
Videos
Truevert is based on OrcaTecs patent pending Information Discovery Toolkit. It is not an ontology, thesaurus, taxonomy, or dictionary. It is based on understanding terms in their context. We talk to TrueVert and get a demo of the software. Mashery provides scalable on-demand infrastructure for managing your APIs. Web 2.0 Panel: The Web has changed the way politicians raise money, it has transformed the level of engagement people have with the political process, and it will help shape policy and presidential agenda.
Web 2.0 Panel: The Web has changed the way politicians raise money, it has transformed the level of engagement people have with the political process, and it will help shape policy and presidential agenda.
The Web site put forth the terms and statement after an earlier revision of the terms upset members and advocacy groups. The changes increase user control and privacy protection while improving account deletion and limiting sublicenses and reducing data exchanges between application developers.
The move resulted from online discussions among users and the company. It drew immediate praise from users and advocacy groups.
"We are pleased with the outcome," Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, said in a statement released Friday. "Facebook addressed several privacy problems that EPIC had identified."
EPIC, which had threatened two months ago to file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission, also praised members who campaigned for increased privacy protections. The group said that the changes reaffirm key privacy principles for Web 2.0 applications.
"There will always be privacy issues with Facebook and other popular web services," Rotenberg said. "The need for a comprehensive privacy framework is clear. But this week Facebook took an important step in support of user privacy, and we support the outcome."
InformationWeek has published an in-depth report on the business uses of social networks. Download the report here (registration required).
Motocross racing, iPhone apps of the week
This week, Apple surpassed an amazing milestone at the iTunes app store: one billion downloads. Apple had been running a contest called the Billion App Countdown promotion with prizes including a chance to win a $10,000 iTunes Gift Card, a MacBook Pro, an iPod Touch, and more. Though the contest ended once they reached their mark (winners will be announced soon), it's still an amazing feat and clearly implies the apps are going to keep on coming. That's great news for iPhone app lovers like us!
It's no secret that the most popular apps at the iTunes Store, paid or free, are largely from the games category, so this week I'm going to talk about two new games on my iPhone you should check out.
SuperCross
Even without a career mode, the graphics and gameplay are excellent
(Credit: CNET)
SuperCross ($7.99) lets you jump on a motocross bike and race in full 3D on several unlockable tracks. Choose from a number of color schemes for your bike and your racer and also choose the displacement of your engine (two-stroke and four-stroke machines are available). Use your iPhone or iPod Touch's accelerometer to turn your motocross bike and navigate the best lines over jumps, bumps, banks, and whoop-de-doos. You can choose from several different control schemes if you don't like using the accelerometer for turning (control pad arrows are added onscreen) and each work very well.
Though the look and feel of Supercross is excellent, I can't help but think a career mode in which you could race through a season is a needed addition to this game. The way the game is set up, you simply need to come in first or second in races to unlock more tracks, but there's not much draw beyond that. Even without a career mode, if you love motocross racing, this game is probably the best so far for iPhone, but some may want to wait for a more complete game--especially at $7.99.
Uniwar
As you move each unit, you are given a number of abilities you can perform
(Credit: CNET)
Uniwar ($2.99) is a bit more involved than a lot of the pick up and play games for the iPhone, but turn-based strategy game lovers should definitely grab this game. Played on a hexagonal grid map, you must command your army of units with varying abilities to defeat your enemies. Choose from three races with different strengths and weaknesses and slowly build your fighting force using the turn-based system. The player to capture all the bases wins the game, but it takes a lot of thought and strategy to manoeuver your units and use their abilities to get you into a position to win.
Uniwar offers a campaign mode to get you started familiarizing yourself with each units skills and abilities. From there you can play a solo skirmish-like mode or take your battle online against live opponents. Online games can have anywhere between a 10-minute or 72-hour limit between turns with e-mail notifications to let you know when you're supposed to act. But even the solo game against the AI is a lot of fun, with different maps and races to give the game plenty of replay value. Though Uniwar might not appeal to those who are more interested in action-type games, if your a turn-based strategy game enthusiast, I can't recommend this game enough.
What's your current favorite iPhone app? Do you think Supercross offers plenty at the $7.99 price tag? Do you think more involved games like Uniwar have a place on the iPhone? Let me know in the comments!
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Best Free Apps and Services for Your Phone
Whether you're on the go or on the sofa, these nine free downloads and services will make your phone experience more enjoyable and productive.
We'll show you, among others, a service that will identify music for you; a mobile app that will sync audio notes, text messages, and phone photos to the Web and desktop versions of the same note-taking software; and a download that acts like a Hollywood personal assistant, serving as a keeper of the details of your daily life.
BEST BET Shazam: Before the music track you're currently listening to finishes playing, leaving you humming it for the next three days without knowing its name, check with Shazam. This mobile app for iPhone and Android analyzes the audio, identifies the song, and even offers a link for you to buy the track.
Box.net: As sophisticated as the iPhone is, it still isn't great at file storage and management. This iPhone app works in conjunction with the Box.net Web site, allowing you to store and access up to 1GB of files and documents from your iPhone for free.
CheckPlease
CheckPlease: Take the hassle out of splitting a bill with CheckPlease, a pocketbook-friendly iPhone app that calculates the tip and splits the check with your friends faster than your cheapskate pal can say, "I forgot my wallet."
Evernote: Snap a camera-phone pic or record a quick audio or text note-to-self, and the Evernote mobile app for iPhone and Windows Mobile (registration required) syncs your creation to the popular Evernote note-taking tool--both the Web and desktop versions. If your picture has text, this download will even transcribe what it sees so that you'll never forget anything.
Google Mobile: You can instantly query the search giant with its official mobile search box, for Android, BlackBerry, iPhone, and Windows Mobile. And if you have an Android handset or iPhone, Google Mobile will even support search by voice. Welcome to the future.
OpenTable: The handy mobile version of this valuable online reservation service finds nearby restaurants and makes reservations in a flash, from the comfort of your phone. This iPhone app helps when you need to convince your significant other that, no, you didn't forget the reservations.
PageoncePageonce: This download for iPhone and BlackBerry (a two-week free trial is available for the latter) is like an obsessive personal assistant that keeps track of the most tedious details of your life--your checking account balance, remaining cell phone minutes, packages headed your way--and makes everything accessible through one nice, simple interface.
Remote: Quite possibly the coolest free app available in the iTunes Store, the Remote application turns your iPhone (or iPod Touch, for that matter) into a wireless iTunes remote. Jaws will drop when you pull this one out to DJ at a party.
Yelp: You've used Yelp a thousand times in your browser, but now you can fire up the mobile version in iPhone app form to find a nearby coffee shop, restaurant, or bar and then read reviews and get directions quickly.
We'll show you, among others, a service that will identify music for you; a mobile app that will sync audio notes, text messages, and phone photos to the Web and desktop versions of the same note-taking software; and a download that acts like a Hollywood personal assistant, serving as a keeper of the details of your daily life.
BEST BET Shazam: Before the music track you're currently listening to finishes playing, leaving you humming it for the next three days without knowing its name, check with Shazam. This mobile app for iPhone and Android analyzes the audio, identifies the song, and even offers a link for you to buy the track.
Box.net: As sophisticated as the iPhone is, it still isn't great at file storage and management. This iPhone app works in conjunction with the Box.net Web site, allowing you to store and access up to 1GB of files and documents from your iPhone for free.
CheckPlease
CheckPlease: Take the hassle out of splitting a bill with CheckPlease, a pocketbook-friendly iPhone app that calculates the tip and splits the check with your friends faster than your cheapskate pal can say, "I forgot my wallet."
Evernote: Snap a camera-phone pic or record a quick audio or text note-to-self, and the Evernote mobile app for iPhone and Windows Mobile (registration required) syncs your creation to the popular Evernote note-taking tool--both the Web and desktop versions. If your picture has text, this download will even transcribe what it sees so that you'll never forget anything.
Google Mobile: You can instantly query the search giant with its official mobile search box, for Android, BlackBerry, iPhone, and Windows Mobile. And if you have an Android handset or iPhone, Google Mobile will even support search by voice. Welcome to the future.
OpenTable: The handy mobile version of this valuable online reservation service finds nearby restaurants and makes reservations in a flash, from the comfort of your phone. This iPhone app helps when you need to convince your significant other that, no, you didn't forget the reservations.
PageoncePageonce: This download for iPhone and BlackBerry (a two-week free trial is available for the latter) is like an obsessive personal assistant that keeps track of the most tedious details of your life--your checking account balance, remaining cell phone minutes, packages headed your way--and makes everything accessible through one nice, simple interface.
Remote: Quite possibly the coolest free app available in the iTunes Store, the Remote application turns your iPhone (or iPod Touch, for that matter) into a wireless iTunes remote. Jaws will drop when you pull this one out to DJ at a party.
Yelp: You've used Yelp a thousand times in your browser, but now you can fire up the mobile version in iPhone app form to find a nearby coffee shop, restaurant, or bar and then read reviews and get directions quickly.
Apple to Bulk Up iPhone Storage, Says Report
Apple has ordered large amounts of Flash memory to be used in a new iPhone expected in June, according to reports. What makes this report interesting is that Apple is allegedly ordering twice as much Flash as it did last year, according to reports from DigiTimes. A large request for Flash from Apple backs the rumor of a larger capacity iPhone model, slated for early this summer.
The DigiTimes report continues claiming Apple ordered 100 million 1 gigabit NAND Flash chips, mainly from Samsung Electronics. Apple could recombine these chips in the manufacturing process, creating 16GB and 32GB (Gigabyte) storing capabilities for new iPhone models. One hundred million 8Gb chips would be enough for 12.5 million 8GB iPhones or around 3 million 32GB devices.
Speculation around Apple's massive Flash memory order could mean that the long-rumored 32GB iPhone might be on its way and possibly a larger capacity 64GB iPod Touch. In the case of the iPod Touch, 64GB could mean a much higher price, somewhere around $500. A 32GB iPhone is feasible, especially as video-recording capabilities are expected in the new model (requiring more storage).
However, Apple uses this kind of NAND Flash chips in other of its products as well, like the iPod nano and Shuffle, so at the moment it is not very clear how the Cupertino company will use the 100 million chips. As previously reported, the new iPhone model is expected to feature a better camera (with video recording) and higher storage capacities, besides the 3.0 software improvements announced last month.
T-Mobile to Use Google Software in Devices for Home
SAN FRANCISCO — T-Mobile is planning an aggressive push deep into the home with a variety of communications devices that will use Google’s new Android operating software that already runs one of its cellphones.
T-Mobile plans to sell a home phone early next year and soon after a tablet computer, both running Android, according to confidential documents obtained from one of the company’s partners. The phone will plug into a docking station and come with another device that handles data synchronization as it recharges the phone’s battery.
A T-Mobile spokesman, Peter Dobrow, declined to discuss the specifics of any future products but confirmed that T-Mobile had plans for several devices based on Android.
Last August, T-Mobile, the nation’s fourth-largest wireless carrier after AT&T, Verizon and Sprint, was the first carrier to sell a cellphone, the G1, based on the Android software, an operating system that handles the basic functions for mobile devices.
Google maintains some control over Android, even though the software is open source, meaning other companies can alter it to suit their needs. But so far, only the T-Mobile phone, made by the Taiwanese manufacturer HTC, uses the software.
Android competes with operating systems made by Apple, Microsoft, Nokia and others. The vision for the operating system, however, has stretched to cover a wide range of mobile devices, including computers.
T-Mobile’s use of Android to advance its ambitions also shows just how blurry the line has become between phones and computers. Its tablet-size phone device resembles a small laptop without a keyboard and has a seven-inch touch screen. It would handle basic computing jobs like checking the weather or managing data across a variety of devices in the home.
“All of the carriers are going to be supporting these mobile Internet devices that range from laptops to smartphones,” said Greg Sterling, an analyst with Opus Research, which monitors the mobile industry.
It started slowly, but Android has attracted more interest lately among handset manufacturers and carriers. For example, Samsung committed last week to ship a number of Android-based phones this year, with T-Mobile and Sprint likely to offer the devices in the United States.
In addition, Motorola is expected to sell a phone running Android by October, according to industry analysts. HTC has also said it planned to make other Google phones.
Smaller companies have seized on Android as well. For example, a start-up called Touch Revolution, based in San Francisco, uses the software to run a desk phone with a seven-inch screen. The device handles calls, voicemail and e-mail through its wireless access.
The chief executive of Touch Revolution, Mark Hamblin, worked on creating Apple’s touch-screen technology for the iPhone. He said that home phones with advanced software could offer people functions that go beyond what today’s cellphones do.
For example, the company’s phones will have many of the functions of computers. Some will have larger screens, which makes them handy for displaying recipes and a family calendar. “If you put this in a convenient location in the house, it will get a lot of use,” Mr. Hamblin said.
T-Mobile shares in this grand vision of more sophisticated devices in the home. For instance, its line of Cameo digital picture frames can receive new photos sent via e-mail or from cellphones. T-Mobile would like to link phones, photo frames, digital cameras, security systems, webcams and TVs through its software and networking services.
Verizon, with its new Hub phone, and AT&T, with its HomeManager, sell similar products that merge the delivery of information and phone calls on a computerlike appliance.
“This is their attempt to keep people interested in landline services,” Mr. Sterling, the analyst, said.
AT&T announced a trial program last week in which it will sell small, low-cost laptops known as netbooks for just $50 to people signing long-term contracts for its wireless data services.
T-Mobile plans to sell a home phone early next year and soon after a tablet computer, both running Android, according to confidential documents obtained from one of the company’s partners. The phone will plug into a docking station and come with another device that handles data synchronization as it recharges the phone’s battery.
A T-Mobile spokesman, Peter Dobrow, declined to discuss the specifics of any future products but confirmed that T-Mobile had plans for several devices based on Android.
Last August, T-Mobile, the nation’s fourth-largest wireless carrier after AT&T, Verizon and Sprint, was the first carrier to sell a cellphone, the G1, based on the Android software, an operating system that handles the basic functions for mobile devices.
Google maintains some control over Android, even though the software is open source, meaning other companies can alter it to suit their needs. But so far, only the T-Mobile phone, made by the Taiwanese manufacturer HTC, uses the software.
Android competes with operating systems made by Apple, Microsoft, Nokia and others. The vision for the operating system, however, has stretched to cover a wide range of mobile devices, including computers.
T-Mobile’s use of Android to advance its ambitions also shows just how blurry the line has become between phones and computers. Its tablet-size phone device resembles a small laptop without a keyboard and has a seven-inch touch screen. It would handle basic computing jobs like checking the weather or managing data across a variety of devices in the home.
“All of the carriers are going to be supporting these mobile Internet devices that range from laptops to smartphones,” said Greg Sterling, an analyst with Opus Research, which monitors the mobile industry.
It started slowly, but Android has attracted more interest lately among handset manufacturers and carriers. For example, Samsung committed last week to ship a number of Android-based phones this year, with T-Mobile and Sprint likely to offer the devices in the United States.
In addition, Motorola is expected to sell a phone running Android by October, according to industry analysts. HTC has also said it planned to make other Google phones.
Smaller companies have seized on Android as well. For example, a start-up called Touch Revolution, based in San Francisco, uses the software to run a desk phone with a seven-inch screen. The device handles calls, voicemail and e-mail through its wireless access.
The chief executive of Touch Revolution, Mark Hamblin, worked on creating Apple’s touch-screen technology for the iPhone. He said that home phones with advanced software could offer people functions that go beyond what today’s cellphones do.
For example, the company’s phones will have many of the functions of computers. Some will have larger screens, which makes them handy for displaying recipes and a family calendar. “If you put this in a convenient location in the house, it will get a lot of use,” Mr. Hamblin said.
T-Mobile shares in this grand vision of more sophisticated devices in the home. For instance, its line of Cameo digital picture frames can receive new photos sent via e-mail or from cellphones. T-Mobile would like to link phones, photo frames, digital cameras, security systems, webcams and TVs through its software and networking services.
Verizon, with its new Hub phone, and AT&T, with its HomeManager, sell similar products that merge the delivery of information and phone calls on a computerlike appliance.
“This is their attempt to keep people interested in landline services,” Mr. Sterling, the analyst, said.
AT&T announced a trial program last week in which it will sell small, low-cost laptops known as netbooks for just $50 to people signing long-term contracts for its wireless data services.
Apple nearing One billion apps served
Apple is approaching the 1 billion mark for applications downloaded from the App Store, and plans to give out a host of Apple gear to the lucky billionth customer.
The company put up a countdown Web page Friday as it gets closer to the mark: as of this writing, about 928 million applications have been downloaded from the App Store since it went live last July, according to the counter. Whoever manages to download the 1 billionth application will come away with a pretty good haul: a MacBook Pro, a 32GB iPod Touch, a Time Capsule, and a $10,000 iTunes gift certificate.
Somewhere north of 30,000 applications have made their way onto the App Store to fuel those 1 billion downloads. Along with the promotion, Apple released some stats on the top downloads in both the paid and free categories: Facebook has been downloaded the most times among the free applications, while Crash Bandicoot Nitro Kart 3D has received the most downloads among paid applications.
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