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Microsoft’s Lawsuits Against Android Are Paying Off

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Apparently Google isn’t the only company benefiting from Android’s global dominance as it seems that Microsoft is also benefiting from Android’s rise (at least from one manufacture).

Microsoft (who has made it a quest to sue Android manufactures over patent claims) is ironically making more money off of Android than their own mobile OS.

A rough estimate of the number of HTC Android devices shipped is 30 million. If HTC paid $5 per unit to Microsoft, that adds up to $150 million Android revenues for Microsoft.

Microsoft has admitted selling 2 million Windows Phone licenses (though not devices.) Estimating that the license fee is $15/WP phone, that makes Windows Phone revenues to date $30 million. (Asymco)

Microsoft’s strategy of suing their competition is apparently paying off, as Windows Phone 7 sales have yet to witness blockbuster sales seen by iPhone and Android devices.

Currently other manufactures like Motorola have refused to pay Microsoft one cent and are ironically counter suing the software giant over patents they feel Windows Phone 7 (as well as a slew of other products) violate.

Google surprisingly hasn’t come to the aid of their mobile friends, despite the fact that lawsuits like these could hurt Android adoption by manufactures in the long run.

(Image via GreatEreader)

YouTube Still King, Leaps Past 3 Billion Daily Views

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After six years of existence Google’s social video king still remains on the thrown, as the YouTube team revealed a couple of impressive stats regarding the site’s popularity.

Today, more than 48 hours (two days worth) of video are uploaded to the site every minute, a 37% increase over the last six months and 100% over last year. […]

We’re amazed that over this last weekend, you drove YouTube past the 3 billion views a day mark, a 50% increase over last year. That’s the equivalent of nearly half the world’s population watching a YouTube video each day, or every U.S. resident watching at least nine videos a day. (Official YouTube Blog)

Note: Emphasis theirs.

Despite fierce competition from rivals like Vimeo as well as Facebook, users and businesses continue to flock towards YouTube to power their videos online.

While YouTube has pioneered the path towards making videos more social, the service has yet to embrace live streaming en masse (although they do allow select partners to broadcast videos in real time).

Note: It will be interesting to see if rivals like Microsoft (who just purchased Qik) will make a second attempt to challenge YouTube in the future, or leave it up to Facebook to steal Google’s crown.

Should Sony Launch A “Pwn2Own” Competition?

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Right on the heels of patching up a security flaw from their last hack attack, it looks like hackers were once again able to break into Sony’s servers and embarrass the corporation even further.

Naked Security has more details regarding the hack, although truth be told this latest breach could cost the company millions (if not billions) of dollars in lost future revenue as consumers become weary of shopping upon the Play Station Network.

Although Sony has hired security organizations to help fix any future problems, the company might be better off by launching a Pwn2Own competition in order to help seal up any potential security holes. [Read more…]

How HP’s TouchPad Can Avoid Tablet Purgatory

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With the exception of RIM’s Playbook, every iPad 2 challenger has been greeted by consumers with a lack of interest (at least as far as Android tablets go).

Instead of taking cue’s from RIM (who didn’t go out of their way to challenge Apple), HP has decided to boast about TouchPad’s superiority over rivals, claiming that their tablet will not only be able to challenge iPad 2, but also beat Apple at their own game.

Although early reviews of the TouchPad have thus far been positive, HP will have to do more than match iPad 2 on price if they plan on stealing the gold away from Apple. [Read more…]

Filed Under: HP

Android To World: Over 1 In 3 Smartphones Now Belong To Us

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If this one fact hasn’t convinced you that we’ve officially entered the age of Android, perhaps nothing will.

According to Gartner, Google’s mobile operating system commands a staggering 36% global share among smartphone devices in , which is almost 4 times greater than Android’s market in 2010.

While Apple is weathering their onslaught from Android, Symbian’s lead has apparently been almost cut in half (which probably explains why Nokia abandoned Symbian in favor of Windows Phone 7).

Gartner unfortunately does not include tablets and mp3 players in the mix, which would make it easier to compare mobile operating systems (as iOS and Android have both expanded their reach to tablets and music players).

With Apple attempting to enter the prepaid market later on this fall, it will be interesting to see if Steve Jobs can thwart the rise of Android in the mobile arena.

Note: According to Gartner, Windows Phone 7 sold a modest 1.6 million smartphones, although truthfully that probably isn’t enough for Microsoft to threaten Android let alone iOS.

Chart Credit: Gartner