When Google last year unveiled Android, its open-source mobile phone platform, I published an article titled, Android vs. iPhone: Will the Google Phone Be an iPhone Killer?

At the time, before iPhone 2.0, it looked like Android had a good shot at taking down the iPhone, for several reasons:

• Android phones were set to be priced around $200, while the iPhone at the time was priced at a minimum of $400 (for the 4GB model).
• Because Android is open-source, developers can freely create applications for the phones. When I wrote my article last November, Apple had not yet released a software development kit for the iPhone, so any third-party applications on iPhone were unauthorized.
• Apple signed a contract with AT&T binding the iPhone in the United States to the wireless company for five years, while Google’s Android phones will be built by various manufacturers and supported by many carriers.

Add to that the fact that when I wrote the article, there was still no mention of 3G data speeds or GPS being on the iPhone.

iPhone 2.0: A lot’s changed in half a year

Click to read the rest →

Google last week unveiled Android, an extremely versatile open-source mobile phone platform that will be freely available to all handset makers under what CEO Eric Schmidt calls “one of the most liberal licenses in the world.” Will Android change the mobile landscape as much as iPhone did, and if so, how will iPhone suffer — or benefit — because of it?

Click to read the rest →

By now you’ve probably heard about Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer saying yesterday that “There’s no chance that the iPhone is going to get any significant market share.”

iPhone competitors have learned that if they want to snag the attention of 10 million bloggers worldwide, all they have to do is join the petty playground wars over the iPhone and say something mean about the device.

Of course Ballmer is going to say that. Microsoft vs. Apple: It’s the classic rivalry. And it makes great reporter bait. But quite frankly, I’m sick of hearing about it.

On another note, this is my 100th post on Apple iPhone Review. Pretty exciting, huh?

LG has filed a patent for a flip phone with two touchscreens: one in place of the standard display, and another in place of the keypad.

The patent says the touchscreens can work separately or together. This allows for some interesting possibilities.

Click to read the rest →

Not that the Zune phone would be a threat to the iPhone, but Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has downplayed rumors that the company would be creating any sort of Zune mobile phone. Instead, Ballmer said, Microsoft will focus on adding Zune features to Windows Mobile handhelds.

Enough about that. It’s not that I’ve got an Apple bias, just that I’ve always thought the Zune was Microsoft’s desperate attempt at jumping into the PMP market a little too late. By today’s standards, the Zune is already big and clunky, and not very innovative.