More than 50 percent of all smartphones sold worldwide run Android

The global domination of Android has seemed inexorable for the last year and a half, and now new research tells us what we’ve long suspected. According to Gartner, more than half of all smartphones sold worldwide use Android as of the third quarter of 2011. To be exact, 52.5% of all new smartphones sold come with Google’s OS in one form or another, with 60 million units and change being sold in the three months period. That’s an almost 200% rise over the same time span last year.

As far as manufacturers go, Nokia remains top dog in the overall market, selling 105 million devices including smartphones and “featurephones”. Samsung is hot on their heels at 78.6 million, with LG in a distant third at 21 million. Apple, ZTE, Research in Motion, HTC, Motorola, Huawei and Sony round out the top ten. Again, the placement includes featurephones, though in Apple and RIM’s cases the distinction doesn’t matter. Samsung is the largest manufacturer of smartphones at 24 million, with Apple following at 17 million.
Android has essentially doubles its market share in terms of sales over the last year. When compared to other operating systems, Android’s lead becomes even more dramatic. Nokia’s Symbian OS still powers 16.9% of smartphones, with Apple’s iOS trailing at 15%. Nokia’s market share is down a staggering 20 points year over year (though they’re transitioning to Windows Phone 7), while Apple lost 1.6. Blackberry has just 11%, while Samsung’s in-house OS Bada is actually beating Microsoft’s combined Windows share, at 2.2 and 1.5 percent, respectively.

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Sony Ericsson commits to Ice Cream Sandwich for all current phones

Following the flurry of excitement after the release of the official Ice Cream Sandwich source code yesterday, Sony Ericsson is assuring its customers that every Xperia phone made in 2011 will receive an official update. That includes the Xperia arc and arc S, Xperia PLAY, Xperia neo and neo V, Xperia mini and mini pro, Xperia pro, Xperia active, Xperia ray as well as Sony Ericsson Live with Walkman. Of course, not all models are available in all markets.

Sony didn’t give any timeframe on when to expect the updates, but for those who bought their phones on contract, remember that they’re largely contingent upon carriers’ cooperation – a particularly belligerent carrier might choose not to update their phone at all. Other major manufacturers are quoting between six weeks and four months for the first ICS updates, but given the unfortunately spotty history of Android rollouts, it may be quite a while longer before some see any new software. Sony’s reputation on the matter isn’t the best in the Android business, but it’s far from the worst – we’ll see how Sony’s proposed acquisition of Ericsson affects software development.
Sony joins the major Android manufacturers in reiterating to its customers that they’ll be seeing Ice Cream Sandwich at some point. HTC and Samsung have promised updates for those devices that can handle the increased system requirements, and Motorola said that phones running ICS would begin appearing just six weeks after the source code was released. (For the record, that’s right around New Years’s, Moto. Just sayin’.) If you’re brave and at least reasonable technical, community-authored ICS ROMS and mods should begin appearing this week, with more stable and reliable versions to follow.
[via UnwiredView]

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Netflix updates with new tablet-friendly UI

Netflix customers using an Android tablet got a surprise late last night, when a new version of the Android app sporting a completely revamped UI showed up in the Market. The new user interface appears to be contingent upon screen resolution, not operating system, so those of you rocking a Froyo or Gingerbread tablet can get in on the action as well. In a few days the new UI will be showing up on the Nook Tablet and Kindle Fire.

The layout mimics the one seen on the web version of Netflix, which has graced desktop browsers for the last few months. The sliding, scrolling list of panels allows users to swipe left or right to see more movies or TV shows, an innovation that Netflix says gets twice as many titles on-screen as before. Previously tablet users, no matter what their operating system, used the same list-based interface as everyone else, filling up relatively large screens with lots of wasted white space.
The fact that the interface works on older versions of Android is particularly exciting – CyanogenMod users on their hacked Nook Colors or HP TouchPads will surely appreciate it. As the Fire and Nook Tablet gain popularity this holiday season, expect to see more and more apps take this backwards-compatible approach to take advantage of these reader/tablets older versions of Android. The updated version is available in the Android Market right now.

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HTC Sensation XE v/s Nokia Lumia 800

Choosing between the Nokia Lumia 800 and HTC Sensation XE for your business is far from easy. Both are stunning smartphones, so let’s see how they compare.

The HTC Sensation XE is one of the Taiwanese brand’s latest powerful smartphones, built for pretty much any task – whether it be work or pleasure. The Nokia Lumia 800 is the phone Nokia that hopes will set a new standard in Nokia phones. And, it’s one of Nokia’s fastest yet. But can it cut it in the corporate world? Here’s a side-by-side look at both handsets.

HTC Sensation XE v Nokia Lumia 800: power
For getting things done, both the HTC Sensation XE and Nokia Lumia 800 are worth considering. The HTC Sensation XE sports a very quick 1.5GHz processor. This means that apps, documents and spreadsheets load quickly so that you spend less time waiting around, and more time doing the things that are most important. The Nokia Lumia 800 is just as capable. It has a 1.4GHz processor. Technically that makes it the slower of the pair, but most users will barely notice any difference between the two.

HTC Sensation XE v Nokia Lumia 800: screen
Screen size and quality is pretty important when it comes to using a phone for business. It’s likely you’ll spend a lot of time looking at it, so any screen will need to be large enough, and of high quality. Both the HTC Sensation XE and Nokia Lumia 800’s screens tick all the boxes when it comes to quality. But for that extra bit of screen real estate, the HTC Sensation XE is superior for working on. Its 4.3-inch screen (compared with the 3.7-inches of the Nokia Lumia 800) is great for viewing spreadsheets without having to strain for a closer look.

HTC Sensation XE v Nokia Lumia 800: memory
You’re going to need a healthy amount of storage to get the most out of your handset. Out of the box the Nokia Lumia 800 looks the more attractive proposition. Its 16GB mass memory appears to dwarf the 4GB of the HTC Sensation XE. However, the Lumia 800’s absence of any micro-SD card slot means 16GB is the limit of its storage. The HTC Sensation on the other hand can be upgraded via microSD card to house 32GB of storage – twice that of the Nokia Lumia 800.

HTC Sensation XE v Nokia Lumia 800: camera
Both The HTC Sensation XE and Nokia Lumia 800 carry reputable 8-megapixel cameras. The downside to the Nokia Lumia 800 is that it does not feature a front-facing camera – so video conferencing is out of the question. But if video calls don’t matter to you, the Nokia Lumia 800, with its Carl Zeiss lens, takes the better photos.

HTC Sensation XE v Nokia Lumia 800: operating system
It’s the Android 2.3.4 (Gingerbread) operating system of the HTC Explorer XE versus the Windows 7.5 Mango system of the Nokia Lumia 800. Deciding upon a leader here is tricky. Android has been a mainstay of some of the very best smartphones in recent years. Both Android and Mango are slick, and easy to operate, and both have features and applications that let you work on the move and the ability to sync your calendar for meetings and planning ahead. The Nokia Lumia 800 has Microsoft Office, while the HTC Sensation XE gets Google Docs. Business features-wise, both are on a level playing field. Though it must be said, Windows 7.5 Mango is the more visually appealing operating system.

HTC Sensation XE v Nokia Lumia 800: dimensions
The HTC Explorer XE features a bigger screen, but this comes at the expense of portability, so it will take up more space in your pocket – bigger than the Nokia Lumia 800 in height, width and thickness. It is also the heavier phone – weighing 151 grams compared with the Nokia Lumia 800’s 142 grams.

HTC Sensation XE v Nokia Lumia 800: the winner
Overall, it is difficult to separate the two handsets on business use alone. Both are well powered and fully featured smartphones. However, the HTC Sensation XE comes out on top in nearly every category, besides size. If not being able to fit your phone in your top pocket doesn’t matter to you, the HTC Sensation XE is almost certainly the business phone for you.

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Adobe’s Full Suite of Touch Apps Are Now Available For Android

Alright, so Adobe is giving up on Flash for mobile devices. But let’s not forget, there’s still a great many other things the company is good at. Take their entire suite of touch apps that are finally available for Android. We told you guys about them a few weeks ago and these six apps are special touch versions of their popular (and expensive) desktop applications built specifically for iOS and Android Honeycomb tablets. Here’s what we’re looking at:

Adobe Photoshop Touch: Transform images freely using core Photoshop features in an app custom-built for tablets.

Adobe Proto: Create interactive wireframes and prototypes of websites and mobile apps.

Adobe Ideas: Design virtually anywhere using vectors, layers, and color themes.

Adobe Debut: Present Creative Suite designs anywhere with confidence, convenience, and complete control.

Adobe Collage: Capture ideas and concepts by combining images, drawings, and text into conceptual moodboards.

Adobe Kuler: Create, explore, download, and share color themes that can inspire any design project.

If you would like to check them out, you can find Adobe’s entire line-up of touch applications now available in the Android Market for $10 each.
[Market Link | Adobe]

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LG Announces Optimus 3D Enhanced Android 2.3 Gingerbread Update

We just received an email from LG confirming the previously leaked Android 2.3 Gingerbread update will officially be arriving on the glasses-free Optimus 3D during the week of November 21st. Rollout will start in Europe and then followed by the rest of the world up until the end of the year.

This isn’t your normal Android update either. LG is calling it an “enhanced” update, adding more than just a bigger firmware number and/or bugfixes. You can look forward to faster 21Mbps HSDPA+ data speeds, new 3D video editor app, improved 2D video stabilization and video recording, plus an updated user interface. You can read the full press release below.

LG ADDS ADVANCED FEATURES TO OPTIMUS 3D
WITH ENHANCED GINGERBREAD UPGRADE
Latest Upgrade Empowers Users with Powerful 3D and Multimedia Options

SEOUL, Nov. 15, 2011 - The enhanced Android 2.3 Gingerbread upgrade developed for LG Optimus 3D will include new and improved features such as enhanced network speed, better 3D experience and improved multimedia functions.

LG’s customized Gingerbread upgrade for Optimus 3D will not only include improvements from Google such as enhanced power management, advanced copy/paste and user interface (UI) improvements, but also enhancements from LG, such as:

Enhanced HSPA+ Speed via Faster Packet Data Services – Internet browsing and real-time streaming have become smoother and more seamless with up to 21Mbps HSDPA;

Enriched 3D Experience with 3D Video Editor and Full-screen UI Preview – With 3D Video Editor, users will be able to easily create and edit 2D as well as 3D movies on their Optimus 3D. The preview screen has become wider with a transparent UI, enabling users to capture better quality 3D content;

Improved Multimedia with 2D Video Stabilization and Faster Gallery Activation – Optimus 3D owners will now be able to record high quality video in 2D mode with the video stabilization feature, previously only available in 3D mode. Gallery loading time has also been reduced.

"These enhanced features included in our customized Android 2.3 upgrade will allow users to further integrate 3D into their everyday lives, as we make the technology more accessible and enjoyable on smartphones," said Dr. Jong-seok Park, President and CEO of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company. "We believe that 3D is here to stay and glasses-free 3D on portable devices is to experience the future."

The upgrade will also include additional features such as improved video recording and longer MP3 playback time. The upgrade will be available starting in Europe from the Open model in the week of November 21, followed by other markets until the end of the year.

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65-inch Honeycomb “Tablet” bumps Android up to 1080p

How big is too big? Currently tablets top out at about ten inches, but if you’d like something a little more gigantic,  at least one Turkish company is willing to give you what you want. Ardic Technology is running a full Honeycomb interface through a 65-inch 1080p television – that’s 1920 x 1080 pixels, to most Honeycomb tablets 1280 x 800. The prototype is one of a kind for the moment.

There’s a lot of work put into this modification, between boosting the resolution, outputting the video and getting the touch input to work on a remote display. The results are impressive to say the least: it really is a lot like a gigantic Honeycomb tablet, with full multi-touch support and working games, like Fruit Slice. And all it takes is a Tegra 2 processor and 1GB of RAM – that says a lot for the scalability of Android. How does a 1080p panel in your next (normal-sized) Android tablet sound? The custom-built system uses a standard tablet (looks like a Galaxy Tab 10.1 or XOOM) in a dock, with near- instantaneous switching.
Check out the video below for some impressive performance:




Obviously this sort of setup isn’t ready for the mass market yet, but the implications are fascinating. If you watch the video you’ll see that the operator isn’t actually touching the screen, he’s using some sort of motion tracking or infrared system. So if Android runs this well in a fully functional five-foot interface, what’s to stop Google from building all these features into the next Google TV? Heck, why can’t your Tegra 3 tablet be your Google TV? The possibilities seem ripe for gaming as well, with Kinect-style games being the obvious goal.
The company is planning on building an improved model soon. We’ll be keeping an eye on their progress – especially if they plan on selling them!
[via Engadget]

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United States QR code usage jumps 500%, still isn’t cool

Good news, scanning enthusiasts! Adults in the US are using QR codes and other barcode scanning apps five times as much as least year! Of course, since that’s a jump of 1% to 5%, there’s still less than one in twenty people who are actually using it. Considering that smartphones in general and Android in particular have seen a genuinely meteoric rise in the general phone market, the rate of QR adoption is positively pokey.

The figures are a little more rosy when you restrict them to only smartphone users. 15% of smartphone owners use a scanning app, up from 5% in 2010. Android users are more likely than anyone to use them, with almost a quarter using their phone as a scanner for one thing or another. Most of those that did use scanners were younger adults, with two-thirds of them falling between the ages of 23 and 46.
The study, performed by Forrester Research, gives gentle instruction for businesses to optimize the use of QR codes. Ideally they should be placed on a stable, easy-to access surface, with good lighting and – important – no  alternate connectivity. So placing a QR code next to a public access terminal probably wouldn’t be a very good idea. The most commonly-used codes were more than just a link to information, they were a call to action, like automatically starting a mini-transaction or entering the user into a contest.
[via ReadWriteWeb]

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T-Mobile joins the Google Music Event Wednesday, Live music and more

We’ve just learned that a few invites are going around to join what appears to be an after-party of the Google Music event set for Wednesday. As if the title “These Go to Eleven” from Spinal Tap didn’t give anything away, the invite from T-Mobile does. Mentioning live performances from Drake, Maroon 5, Busta Rhymes and more. If you weren’t convinced this was a musical event, you should be now.

This instantly makes me wonder a few things. Why would T-Mobile be so involved with a Google Music event, wouldn’t that be all Google? Unless maybe they are pushing it to T-Mobile devices first but I can’t see that happening when this should be a Android wide release. Google did this with Google Wallet, so it’s possible, but doubtful. Second if you look the event is actually being pushed by BNC and not T-Mobile. I was immediately hoping that Google would announce their new Google Music Store that we saw earlier today, and then T-Mobile would pop on stage and show off the T-Mobile Galaxy Nexus. Sadly that doesn’t appear to be the case. We can dream right?
While many are thinking we may see some sort of product announcement from T-Mobile, I don’t think this is the case. Instead T-Mobile appears to be sponsoring the after party. Either way we now know this is indeed an event all about music and the Google Music Store is about to get very real. Stay tuned for more details as we’ll have all the information as the event unfolds.

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