2009 world handset sales ranked, iPhone OS eats WinMo

23 February, 2010
GSM Arena

Technology researchers from Gartner have come up with their annual report on mobile phone sales, 2009 edition. And it's an interesting read.

In short, 2009 phones sales have remained flat despite the economic imbalances but there are some pretty interesting market share shifts.

Unless you've lived in a cave for the past twelve months, you won't be surprised to learn that Motorola and Sony Ericsson took the biggest hits this year, while Apple, Samsung, LG and RIM had one hell of a year.

Table 1
Worldwide Mobile Handset Sales to End Users in 2009 (thousands of units)

Company	2009 Sales	2009 Market Share (%)	2008 Sales	2008 Market share (%)
Nokia	440,881.6	36.4	472,314.9	38.6
Samsung	235,772.0	19.5	199,324.3	16.3
LG	122,055.3	10.1	102,789.1	8.4
Motorola	58,475.2	4.8	106,522.4	8.7
Sony Ericsson	54,873.4	4.5	93,106.1	7.6
Others	299,179.2	24.7	248,196.1	20.3
Total	1,211,236.6	100.0	1,222,252.9	100.0

Source: Gartner (February 2010)

Nokia also took a dive, dropping two percent of total market share (and 5.5 percent of smartphone market) but their market leadership remains pretty safe. They shipped 440 million handsets - a volume that almost totals that of all other companies from the Top Five (470 million). Things are even more convincing in smartphone terms where Symbian accounts to 47 percent of all sales globally.

However Apple have managed to double their market share, shipping 25 million iPhones, compared to 11 million in the previous year. RIM also noted a healthy 48 percent increase pushing the number of sold handsets to 34 million.

Table 2
Worldwide Smartphone Sales to End Users by Operating System in 2009 (thousands of units)

Company	2009 Units	2009 Market Share (%)	2008 Units	2008 Market Share (%)
Symbian	80,878.6	46.9	72,933.5	52.4
Research In Motion	34,346.6	19.9	23,149.0	16.6
iPhone OS	24,889.8	14.4	11,417.5	8.2
Microsoft Windows Mobile	15,027.6	8.7	16,498.1	11.8
Linux	8,126.5	4.7	10,622.4	7.6
Android	6,798.4	3.9	640.5	0.5
WebOS	1,193.2	0.7	NA	NA
Other OSs	1,112.4	0.6	4,026.9	2.9
Total	172,373.1	100.0	139,287.9	100.0

Source: Gartner (February 2010)

When it comes to smartphone platforms, the open-source Android has the biggest market share growth shipping on nearly 6.8 million devices in 2009. That's more than 10 times better than the 0.6 million in 2008. Another year like that and they might just take the second spot (or even first if Symbian doesn't up its game urgently).

An interesting trend is that the iPhone OS managed to reach a wider user base in 2009 than all the various versions and reincarnations of Windows Mobile. Now that should tell you something Microsoft, you better get your back into Windows Phone 7. We're waiting...

Tim Cook Talks IPad, Apple

Philip Michaels, Macworld.com, Feb 24, 2010 5:50 am

PCWORLD

Apple chief operating officer Tim Cook sang the praises of the forthcoming iPad, outlined the company's plans for retail expansion, and gave an overview of the company's other products during a wide-ranging talk before investors at the Goldman Sachs Technology & Internet Conference in San Francisco on Tuesday.

The Apple COO didn't have anything new to announce during his half-hour-long conversation with Goldman Sachs analyst David Bailey. But Cook's comments do offer some insight into Apple's approach as it enjoys record revenue and sales.

Just a month ago, Apple reported its best-ever quarterly performance, thanks to record Mac and iPhone sales. On Tuesday, Cook was particularly effusive in his praise of the iMac, which he called "very key, and we think it will continue to be very key."

The iMac is just one of the products that's helped the Mac outgrow the overall PC market in 20 of the last 21 quarters. Cook noted that market research firm IDC puts the PC market at about 300 million units and compared that to the 10 million Macs Apple sold during its 2009 fiscal year.

"The ceiling [for Apple] is still far off," he said.

Apple is also enjoying strong growth with the iPhone and iPod touch. The latter handheld, in particular, saw its sales double year-over-year in 2009.

"That helps fuel more app sales, which helps fuel more developers, which helps make the [iPhone OS] platform stronger," Cook said.

In talking about Apple's success, Cook focused on the company's efforts to recruit top talent as well as its focus on core products. "This is the most focused company I know of, am aware of, or have any knowledge of," Cook said. "We say no to good ideas every day" so that the company can keep its focus on a small number of areas. Cook took note of the tables conference attendees were sitting at, and pointed out that most of Apple's product line could fit on those tables. "And we had revenue last year of $40 billion," he added...see more

Hungarian electric car splits into two smaller cars

By Mico Tatalovic |24 February 2010
WIRED

Central and Eastern Europe might not be the first places you think of when it comes to electric cars. In fact, you're probably more likely to think of bad cars, such as the infamous Yugo, dubbed the worst car in history.

But times have changed. A few European car enthusiasts have been pushing for clean vehicles made in their own country, addressing the dearth of clean, home-made vehicles in the region.

One such company is Hungary's Antro, which is developing a car that splits into two smaller cars, and plans to take it/them to market by 2012, assuming the Mayan prophecies fall through.

The environmentally-conscious company started research back in 2002 and, with backing from various local sponsors, has invested 1.5 million euros in market research and development of a working prototype.

The Antro Solo concept (pictured above) is a three-passenger car, with a hybrid drive and solar cells on its roof that the company says could generate enough electricity for up to 20km a day at city speeds.

Futuristic looking in itself, the grander plan for the car is much more audacious: Antro intends to allow users to be able to connect two Antro Solos to form a six-passenger Antro Duo. Or perhaps more interesting still, owners of a Duo could split the car into two smaller Solos should Mum have different weekend plans to Dad. Or if they divorce.

The current prototype looks interesting, but I can't believe its chances of ever making it to past the prototype stage are much above slim.

Also worth a mention, just across the border to the south of Hungary, is a Croatian company called Dok-ing. It specialises in making landmine clearance machines, and sports the company motto: "Don't send a man to do a machine's job." But it, too, has launched its own project for a small electric city car called Dok-ing XD -- a fully electric three-seater that promises to travel 155 miles on a single two-hour charge.

The project was disclosed in 2009 after four years of development. But like Antro, Dok-ing XD sounds and looks good, but the likelihood of it hitting mass production are low. Local media hype followed announcement of the project last summer, but there has been no news since. The working prototype was expected to be on roads by the end of last year, which led to mass production being optimistically scheduled for middle of 2010.

Apple to launch an 'explicit' category for rude apps?

By Andrew Lim on Wednesday, 24th February 2010
RECOMBU

Cult of Mac has just been informed by a developer that a new section has appeared in iTunes Connect. When a developer submits an app they need to select a category and it looks like Apple may be getting ready to launch an 'explicit' category. This potentially means that all the rude apps which were recently removed, could be put back into the app store in a different section. An explicit section hasn't appeared in the front end yet so it might not amount to anything but it's very interesting. We asked a developer friend to double check that the new section existed and it does, as you can see from the screen-shot below.

US Unable To Win a Cyber War

Posted by CmdrTaco on Wednesday February 24, @11:30AM
SLASHDOT

"The inability to deflect even a simulated cyber attack or mitigate its effects shown in the exercise that took place some six days ago at Washington's Mandarin Oriental Hotel doesn't bode well for the US. Mike McConnell, the former Director of National Intelligence, said to the US Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee yesterday that if the US got involved in a cyber war at this moment, they would surely lose. 'We're the most vulnerable. We're the most connected. We have the most to lose,' he stated. Three years ago, McConnell referred to cybersecurity as the 'soft underbelly of this country' and it's clear that he thinks things haven't changed much since then."...

Browse Browser's Trends

Denise Dubie, Network World, Feb 23, 2010 5:47 pm

Recent market share statistics deliver good and bad news for Microsoft. The company saw its Internet Explorer browser lose more ground, seemingly to Google Desktop and Chrome, while its Windows 7 operating system quickly gained market acceptance.

Beware the rogue Wi-Fi access points in Windows 7

"The last six months have been a mixed bag for Microsoft," said Victor Janulaitis, CEO of Janco Associates, in a press statement. The research firm points out in its February 2010 Browser and Operating System Market Share Study that Microsoft IE market share has dipped by more than 12% since February 2007, mostly due to interest in competitive offerings from Firefox and Google.

Beware the rogue Wi-Fi access points in Windows 7

"Firefox and Google have been the main recipients of this change in market share," the report reads. "Google's Desktop and Chrome are new entrants into the browser market; however, interest in both products has dropped with the recent release of IE 8."

According to Janco Associates, Microsoft IE continues to lead the pack of browsers, but Microsoft did lose some 6% in the past 12 months and now holds a bit less than 65% of the total browser market, compared to more than 80% in February 2007). Firefox market share remained mostly flat, declining less than 1% to more than 17%. At the same time, market share for Google's browser grew more than 2% to close to 6% while Safari saw a nearly 1% increase to 1.39%. Janco also uses this report to declare Netscape as "officially dead."...

the US Federal Communications Commission will soon announce a national broadband plan

Jared Newman, PCWorld, Feb 23, 2010 7:42 pm
PC WORLD

With the United States falling behind other nations in broadband adoption, the Federal Communications Commission will soon announce a national broadband plan aimed at getting more people online at faster speeds. A new survey by the FCC shows why 93 million Americans don't get broadband -- a combination of high costs, poor understanding, and a general apathy for the Internet -- highlighting how difficult implementing a national broadband plan will be.

Here are four things I hope will come of the FCC's proposal, which will be submitted to Congress on March 17:

100 Mbps: Affordable, Not Just Available

A key goal for the FCC is to bring 100-megabit-per-second broadband to 100 million homes by 2020, but the current market shows that the speed you get isn't necessarily the fastest possible. Many Internet service providers offer a few speed tiers, with cheaper plans for casual Web browsers and pricey turbo speeds for power users. This will have to change for 100 Mbps Internet to be adopted on a grand scale...

Study: Android, IPhone Fastest-growing Smartphone Platforms

Mikael Ricknäs, IDG News Service, Feb 23, 2010 6:20 pm
PC WORLD

Android and Apple's iPhone OS were the fastest-growing smartphone platforms in 2009, with sales of the iPhone OS overtaking those of Windows Mobile, research company Gartner said Tuesday. Symbian and Research In Motion's BlackBerry still lead the market, it said.

Worldwide sales of smartphones running Symbian totaled 80.9 million in 2009, up from 72.9 million a year earlier. Because total smartphone sales grew faster, to 172.4 million from 139.3 million a year earlier, Symbian's market share declined to 46.9 percent, Gartner said. Second-place RIM's market share rose to 19.9 percent from 16.6 percent in 2008.

Apple's smartphone OS took third place. Apple sold 24.9 million iPhones in 2009, compared to 11.4 million in 2008, taking its share of the market to 14.4 percent.

Microsoft's smartphone OS dropped to the fourth spot as its market share fell from 11.8 percent to 8.7 percent, and sales dropped by about 1.5 million phones. The launch of a new version, Windows Phones 7 Series, appears to make it a more competitive platform, but as phones based on the rewritten OS won't show up until late this year, sales will continue to struggle during most of 2010, according to Roberta Cozza, principal research analyst at Gartner...

As Apple Gets Into Mobile Ads, Rivals Suit Up For A Tough Battle

Dan Frommer | Feb. 23, 2010, 10:25 AM
BUSINESS INSIDER

Another deal in the fast-consolidating mobile ad/metrics industry: Baltimore-based mobile ad firm Millennial Media has acquired Tapmetrics, a San Francisco-based mobile analytics firm.

The deal -- terms not disclosed -- is all about getting more analytics and data to mobile app developers, which represent an increasing percentage of Millennial's ad customers.

The next battlefront for mobile ad networks like Millennial will be competing with the platform makers themselves: Apple is now getting into the mobile advertising game itself, and Google is expanding its mobile ad efforts. This means that companies like Millennial must somehow continue to keep an edge with app publishers, either through tools, services, or better ad revenue. So expect to see more deals like this.

Millennial has been the subject of acquisition rumors itself, with industry chatter suggesting that Microsoft will eventually acquire it. Recently, Google paid $750 million for AdMob -- a deal that has not yet closed as the Feds review it. And Apple paid a reported $275 million for Quattro Wireless, whose CEO Andy Miller is now Apple's head of mobile advertising, reporting directly to Steve Jobs.

Xerox Sues Google, Yahoo Over Patented Search

Lauren Streib | Feb. 23, 2010, 10:27 AM
BUSINESS INSIDER

Xerox filed suit against Google and Yahoo! last Friday claiming that some of their search technology infringes on Xerox's patented tech.

According to Bloomberg, they are seeking unspecified monetary compensation and an order preventing the companies from using their inventions without permission.

Bloomberg: One patent, issued in 2004, is for a way to automatically generate a query based on keyword searches. Xerox claims that Google’s AdSense and AdWords software, and Yahoo’s Search Marketing, Publishing Network and Y!Q Contextual Search software are infringing that patent.

The second patent, issued in 2001, is for a way of updating pages based on user reviews. Google Maps, Google Video, the YouTube service and Yahoo Shopping all use that patented technique, Xerox contends.

Not shocking: Google's senior litigation counsel calls the claims "without merit."

Exclusive: How Google’s Algorithm Rules the Web

By Steven Levy , February 22, 2010, 12:00 pm | Wired March 2010

Want to know how Google is about to change your life? Stop by the Ouagadougou conference room on a Thursday morning. It is here, at the Mountain View, California, headquarters of the world’s most powerful Internet company, that a room filled with three dozen engineers, product managers, and executives figure out how to make their search engine even smarter. This year, Google will introduce 550 or so improvements to its fabled algorithm, and each will be determined at a gathering just like this one. The decisions made at the weekly Search Quality Launch Meeting will wind up affecting the results you get when you use Google’s search engine to look for anything — “Samsung SF-755p printer,” “Ed Hardy MySpace layouts,” or maybe even “capital Burkina Faso,” which just happens to share its name with this conference room. Udi Manber, Google’s head of search since 2006, leads the proceedings. One by one, potential modifications are introduced, along with the results of months of testing in various countries and multiple languages. A screen displays side-by-side results of sample queries before and after the change. Following one example — a search for “guitar center wah-wah” — Manber cries out, “I did that search!”

You might think that after a solid decade of search-market dominance, Google could relax. After all, it holds a commanding 65 percent market share and is still the only company whose name is synonymous with the verb search. But just as Google isn’t ready to rest on its laurels, its competitors aren’t ready to concede defeat. For years, the Silicon Valley monolith has used its mysterious, seemingly omniscient algorithm to, as its mission statement puts it, “organize the world’s information.” But over the past five years, a slew of companies have challenged Google’s central premise: that a single search engine, through technological wizardry and constant refinement, can satisfy any possible query. Facebook launched an early attack with its implication that some people would rather get information from their friends than from an anonymous formula. Twitter’s ability to parse its constant stream of updates introduced the concept of real-time search, a way of tapping into the latest chatter and conversation as it unfolds. Yelp helps people find restaurants, dry cleaners, and babysitters by crowdsourcing the ratings. None of these upstarts individually presents much of a threat, but together they hint at a wide-open, messier future of search — one that isn’t dominated by a single engine but rather incorporates a grab bag of services.

Still, the biggest threat to Google can be found 850 miles to the north: Bing. Microsoft’s revamped and rebranded search engine — with a name that evokes discovery, a famous crooner, or Tony Soprano’s strip joint — launched last June to surprisingly upbeat reviews. (The Wall Street Journal called it “more inviting than Google.”) The new look, along with a $100 million ad campaign, helped boost Microsoft’s share of the US search market from 8 percent to about 11 — a number that will more than double once regulators approve a deal to make Bing the search provider for Yahoo...

Smartbooks Expected to Prove Popular by 2015

Lexton Snol, PC Advisor, Feb 23, 2010 5:27 pm

source

A new research study estimates that 163 million "smartbooks" will ship worldwide in 2015 - a significant rate of growth given that the very first models only appeared in 2008.

According to ABI Research senior analyst Jeff Orr: "As ABI Research defines it, a smartbook is a low-powered device running a mobile operating system that is always connected, either via Wi-Fi or (more often) using cellular or mobile broadband.

"Smartbooks can take many different shapes. They are a subset of MIDs (mobile Internet devices) and netbooks, and address the same potential users, usage, pricing, and market needs. The difference is that they don't use x86 processors."

(German company Smartbook AG is selling Smartbook-branded laptops, and holds a trademark for the word Smartbook in a number of countries, although not in large markets such as the US, China, Japan or India. More information here.)

Qualcomm and Freescale have been the largest promoters of the smartbook concept. Other chipmakers such as TI and NVIDIA that are producing ARM-based processors are active in this market as well...

Microsoft about to offer Windows users a browser choice screen

Posted by Jack Schofield Sunday 21 February 2010 19.11 GMT
source


Some European Windows users could soon see the "browser ballot" screen that makes it easier for them to choose an alternative browser, as a result of an agreement that helped settle an anti-trust case brought by the European Commission.

Microsoft is about to start offering Windows users a "Web browser choice screen" as required by a settlement agreed with the European Commission's competition department last year. As part of the testing process, some users in the UK, Belgium and France will see it next week. It will be rolled out in 30 European countries next month, but not worldwide.

The browser choice screen was preferred over Microsoft's earlier decision to ship boxed copies of Windows 7 without a browser at all.

In a bog post, Dave Heiner, Microsoft's Deputy General Counsel, said: "Internal testing of the choice screen is underway now. We'll begin a limited roll-out externally next week, and expect that a full scale roll-out will begin around March 1, a couple of weeks ahead of schedule."

Can You Imagine Energy in Beta?

Google Gets US Approval To Buy and Sell Energy

Posted by timothy on Friday February 19, @04:32AM
from the smartest-guys-in-the-room dept.
source

"The US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on Thursday granted Google the authority to buy and sell energy on a wholesale basis. Google applied for the authorization last December through a wholly owned subsidiary called Google Energy. 'We made this filing so we can have more flexibility in procuring power for Google's own operations, including our data centers,' Google spokeswoman Niki Fenwick said via e-mail. But the authorization also raises the prospect that Google may start to buy and sell energy as a business."

New Linux-Based Laptop For Computer Newbies

Posted by ScuttleMonkey on Friday February 19, @12:03PM
from the bad-software-knows-no-bounds dept.
source


"The BBC is carrying a report on how people confused and frustrated by computers can now turn to a laptop called Alex built just for them. Based on Linux, the laptop comes with simplified e-mail, web browsing, image editing and office software. Those who sign up for Alex pay £39.95 a month for telephone support, software updates and broadband access. The Newcastle-Based Broadband Computer Company who developed Alex has been working on this project for three years, and didn't immediately adopt a Linux solution — in fact, the first big trial was based on Windows. The company's Chief Technology Officer Barney Morrison-Lyons says that was never going to be the right route: "The biggest problem with Microsoft is badly-written software — the operating system allows you to write software badly unlike Mac or Linux." Mr Hudson, one of the company's founders, said the company also intends to launch an application store for Alex for customers who want to add more features and functions to their computer. "People who love Linux will be keen to develop for this," he said."

Very Soon Apple will Conceal Even Names of iPad Owners

Posted by Philip Elmer-DeWitt, February 18, 2010 10:43 AM

source

In preparation for the scheduled March delivery of Apple's (AAPL) new iPad tablet computer, the company has blocked its bills of lading and other import records from public access, according to a report issued Thursday by Trade Privacy, a trade data protection company based in Reston, VA.

"Apple is the only major electronics company so far to have protected their import data," says Trade Privacy CEO Andrew Park. "Similar companies like Microsoft, Sony and Google continue to import with their product data exposed to the public."

Nearly a billion records filed with U.S. Customs have been made public through the Freedom of Information Act, according to Trade Privacy's press release, creating a market opportunity for business intelligence companies like ImportGenius and Panjiva that collect, analyze and resell the data.

Do You Want to Know How HP's AirLife Looks Like

Ginny Mies, PC World Feb 17, 2010 7:37 pm
source

HP's Android-based smartbook combines the best of the smartphone and the netbook with an almost full-sized keyboard, long battery life, simplified software, and quick online access.

HTC Working on App Store Tech and Studying Tablets

Dan Nystedt, IDG News Service, Feb 16,2010 4:50pm

source

High Tech Computer (HTC), the world's biggest maker of Windows Mobile and Google Android OS smartphones, is working on technologies for applications used in handsets and application stores and plans to put this software to use but not until a later time.

Rumors about an upcoming app store from the company have swirled for months but HTC CEO Peter Chou finally put them to rest at a news gathering in Taipei prior to the Mobile World Congress, which is currently running in Barcelona...

PHP and Perl crashing the enterprise party

by Matt Asay, February 14, 2010 6:00 AM PST
source

The enterprise has long favored Java and .Net, but PHP and other dynamic programming languages have left their infancies and are rapidly closing the gap on their more stodgy competitors.

That's the message I got from Bart Copeland, CEO of ActiveState, the "dynamic languages company," in a conversation this past week. I wanted to find out how the Vancouver-based "old school" open-source company is faring in building business solutions and developer tools around Perl, Python and Tcl.

Quite well, as it turns out (and as described by Forrester analyst Jeffrey Hammond). But the story is much bigger than ActiveState.

While dynamic programming languages like PHP and Python dominate Web engineering, the signs that they are breaking Java and .Net's hold on the enterprise are less clear. Forrester recently reported that PHP claims the highest instance of open source use within enterprises, at 57 percent penetration. But it's also the case that the bulk of enterprise software spending goes to Java and .Net-based software.

Who is winning?...

HP's Smartbook May Battle It out With Apple's IPad

Agam Shah, IDG News Service, Feb 13, 2010 3:30 am

source

Hewlett-Packard's first smartbook, the Compaq AirLife 100, announced on Friday, could be a rival to Apple's iPad as the two companies aim to attract buyers looking for netbook alternatives, analysts said.

AirLife is a hybrid laptop that combines the hardware and software usually found in a smartphone with the design of a netbook. It is as portable as a netbook but offers longer battery life of up to 12 hours. Apple will soon start shipping the iPad tablet, a handheld device designed to let users browse the Internet, play games, read e-books and view video content.

Intel and Nokia's MeeGo Join a Brewing OS War

Jared Newman, PCWorld, Feb 16, 2010 12:39 am
source


Nokia and Intel have become allies in a new clash of the operating systems with the joint creation of MeeGo. MeeGo is an operating system that blurs the line between a robust mobile phone OS and a lightweight netbook OS.

MeeGo is a hybrid of two operating systems. One is Nokia's Maemo, which recently appeared in the N900 smartphone. The second is Intel's Moblin, an OS primarily intended for netbooks. Both platforms are open-source and Linux-based, as MeeGo will be.

Standardize This! 10 Technology Messes That Need Fixing

Dan Tynan, PCWorld, Feb 16, 2010 5:00 am

source

Why should every mobile device in your house have a different charger? Why can’t a cell phone from one network work on every other system? These ten solutions would stop the madness.

Enough with bickering cell phone technologies, messaging systems that won't talk, incompatible file formats, and TV remotes that spread like kudzu across your coffee table. We've been dealing with some of these problems for more than a decade, and it's time for things to improve...

Microsoft unveils Windows Phone Series 7

By Hibah Yousuf, staff reporterFebruary 15, 2010: 10:37 AM ET

Microsoft Corp. unveiled a new operating system for mobile phones Monday, marking its latest move to reclaim a leading position against rivals Apple, Research in Motion and Google.

Just a few years ago, Microsoft (MSFT, Fortune 500) was embedded in about a quarter of all smartphones sold. It's now in less than 10%, with competition coming from the iPhone and BlackBerry. Google (GOOG, Fortune 500)'s Android has only made a crowded space even tougher for Microsoft.

Evolution of Apple by Steve Jobs

google've acquired Aardvark

By Max, Zoo Director | Published: February 12, 2010


Aardvark has defined a new kind of social search: sometimes you want a person, not a web page, to answer your question. We’re extremely excited that Google shares our vision for how search can continue to evolve by including social features...

New LXD Comming Soon

Bill Gates: "Here is the URL - A good URL is:
http://www.thelxd.com/

Motorola Will Finally Split In Two In Early 2011

Business Insider | Feb. 11, 2010, 9:49 PM

Struggling technology company Motorola Inc. said Thursday it plans to split in two in early 2011 — with one half containing its consumer-focused mobile phone and television set-top box products, and the other holding divisions that target business customers...

Bill Gates Joins the iPad's Army of Critics. Steve Jobs Couldn't Care Less.

By Brent Schlender by bnet

With the sudden ridicule of Steve Jobs’ new do-everything media player, Apple has abruptly become a ripe target for those who would like to take it down a notch. The tsunami of criticism is probably excessive, but it does show a change in how people perceive Apple. Suddenly, it seems, Apple and its visionary leader are fair game. Maybe it’s because we’re less worried that Steve is on his deathbed, and that makes attacking him okay. And perhaps it’s because the iPad is arguably the ultimate example of Apple’s penchant for pre-release speculation and hype gone wild.

Bill Gates: “You know, I’m a big believer in touch and digital reading, but I still think that some mixture of voice, the pen and a real keyboard - in other words a netbook - will be the mainstream on that,” he said. “So, it’s not like I sit there and feel the same way I did with iPhone where I say, ‘Oh my God, Microsoft didn’t aim high enough.’ It’s a nice reader, but there’s nothing on the iPad I look at and say, ‘Oh, I wish Microsoft had done it.’”

Apple to Remain 'Nimble' on iPad Pricing

Apple could cut iPad prices if the device isn't selling well, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Touchscreen smartphoes sales rose twice, Apple still in the lead - GSMArena.com news

Touchscreen smartphoes sales rose twice, Apple still in the lead - GSMArena.com news

Opera Mini 5 for iPhone to be shown at the MWC

An opera browser on every mobile platform known to man - with Opera Mini for the iPhone and Opera Mobile 10 for Android, that seems an achievable goal. Opera will show beta versions of the two browsers at the MWC and a few more goodies.

Apple's tight rein on what goes on the iPhone is loosening - first it was VoIP over 3G networks and now a browser that directly competes with Mobile Safari. Opera Mini 5 for iPhone will be shown off at the MWC and packs many of the features that made it one of the most popular mobile browsers.

Opera Mini 5 for iPhone will work like its siblings on other platforms - web pages are heavily compressed before they are sent to the device, which saves on data charges and speeds up page loading times, especially in areas with poor (or none at all) 3G coverage. The usual features like tabs, speed dial and password manager will also be included.

Android is getting a new browser too - soon after the announcement of Firefox for Android, comes the news that Opera Mobile 10 will be available for Android. Again, we'll learn more at the Mobile World Congress but it seems that the mobile browser market is about to become just as crowded as the desktop market.

Opera Mobile 10 beta for S60 and WinMo devices will also be shown, including Opera Widget Manager for S60 and WinMo phones. The Widget Manager allows you to run widgets (simple apps) outside the browser.

HTC Touch HD to reportedly run Android | MyCE

HTC Touch HD to reportedly run Android | MyCE