Android vs. iPhone: Let's get ready to rumble
Smartphone fans, prepare the ring: Some new research released this week is sure to send the Android-iPhone rivalry into overdrive.
Smartphone fans, prepare the ring: Some new research released this week is sure to send the Android-iPhone rivalry into overdrive.
Google's special event on Tuesday morning, when the company is expected to launch a Google-branded superphone, the Nexus One.
With major questions, like how much it will cost and how it will be sold, still unanswered, it's hard to do more than guess about whether the Google Nexus One smartphone will be widely adopted by business.
The forthcoming Google "Nexus One" smartphone could weaken the Android smartphone operating system by further complicating purchase decisions for business and personal customers. Not all Android phones are alike, and that creates a problem.
So. It seems the oft-rumored and--until recently--never-pictured, "Google Phone" exists.
Google apparently isn't content to have its Android mobile operating system merely dominate the season.
As users eagerly await tablets from companies like Apple and Microsoft, Fusion Garage jumped ahead with the demonstration of JooJoo, a handheld Internet and entertainment gadget with a 12.1-inch touch screen. Tablets are a new category of handheld devices with large screens for users to surf the Web and watch videos. JooJoo is due for release in a few months but could be held if a lawsuit is filed by TechCrunch, which originally partnered with Fusion Garage to develop the device under the name Crunchpad.
Mobile searching has just gotten way, way cooler with the new Google Goggles visual search tool for Android, bringing a high-tech twist to accessing information on the go.
The netbook promises convenience and capability in a small, lightweight, and generally inexpensive package, and the concept of a smartbook goes even further: a handy-dandy combination of smartphone and notebook. Alas, most netbook offerings come burdened with a full-blown Windows operating system, which runs slowly on performance-limited netbook hardware and saps battery life. And Windows is not exactly smartphone-oriented.
A recent study by Skyhook Wireless shows that Android developers are increasingly frustrated with Android Market. Some of the statistics reported from the survey could be a sign of trouble for the nascent Android Market, but its also possible that the survey results are a reflection of growing pains as the young Android Market struggles to compete with Apple.
Rumors are once again swirling around the idea that a Google-branded "Superphone" will hit the market next year.
Dell confirmed it is releasing an Android-based smartphone, called the Mini 3, in China and Brazil, but the company's lack of details about the handset makes it hard to get excited. Dell's unwillingness to share more about the Mini 3 also has me wondering if the phone just really isn't that exciting and Dell knows it.
Motorola's Droid has been the subject of much furor lately, fueled in-part by a series of ad spots, including Verizon's controversial campaign.
It's apparently not common knowledge that there are actually two Droids: the Motorola Droid and the HTC Droid Eris. They're both Android-based phones, but significantly different in form and firmware. The Motorola Droid is a slider phone with a large screen and a physical keyboard that runs Android 2.0. The Droid Eris is cheaper, with a slower CPU and no dedicated GPU, but it's also far slicker than the Motorola Droid.
There is no piece of technological wizardry that I want so much as a Droid. Yet, I have decided to hold onto my iPhone. Why? Because the iPhone is the PC of smartphones.