901am

New Media News Every Morning

Hardware Failure Rate Highest Among Android Phones

By

Android has suffered a serious knock with news that it is more unreliable compared to the iPhone and BlackBerry.

In a study conducted by WDS, a company that provides specialist managed services for the wireless industry, it was discovered that Android phones were more likely to suffer from hardware problems compared iOS, Blackberry and Windows 7 devices.

The study was conducted over the course of a year and focused on customer service support calls. About 600,000 tech support calls were part of the study. Of that number, 14 percent were calls for Android phones that suffered a hardware failure. This is followed closely by Windows phones, which accounted for 11 percent of the calls. [Read more…]

Originally posted on November 4, 2011 @ 9:47 am

Nokia Windows Phones to Be Announced Next Week

By

Nokia has been taking a beating in the world market the last few years. The mobile phone manufacturer was once the top dog in the mobile phone industry. But its failure to adapt to changes in the mobile phone preferences of consumers – mainly from the typical mobile phones to smartphones – has resulted in a dwindling market share. In fact, the situation has gotten to a point where it is leaving certain markets because of poor sales. For example, Nokia has basically left Japan and it also hasn’t released any new phones in the United States for the last couple of years. [Read more…]

Originally posted on October 20, 2011 @ 1:40 pm

Windows Phone 7.5 Mango features

By

Microsoft is hedging its bets on the new Windows Phone mobile operating system as the one that will give Apple’s iOS a run for its money. Microsoft seems to have taken some inspiration from Apple’s very popular operating system and made its own innovations to make it more competitive and separate itself from the giant it wants to do battle with. People who have been able to play with the 7.5 Mango update have reported positively about it.  If you’re still unfamiliar about what Windows Phone 7.5 can offer you read on.

Probably one of the tent pole features of Windows Phone 7.5 that Microsoft thinks will attract consumers is its social media integration. Facebook integration was already featured in an earlier iteration of Windows Phone but with version 7.5 Twitter and LinkedIn have been added as well. The integration of these social networks is not just superficial it is integrated into the system. For example, photo sharing is a seamless affair. Sharing photos to Twitter and Facebook will only take a few clicks. [Read more…]

Originally posted on October 13, 2011 @ 6:00 am

Samsung to begin paying royalties to Microsoft

By

Samsung’s legal troubles from its competitors – most notably Apple, seems to be taking its toll on the company, and seems to be losing its spark to fight some legal battles that are in its way. Samsung just recently announced that it will begin paying royalties to Microsoft for every single Android device it sells, whether it is a phone or a tablet. The agreement was reached between the two parties so that the patent infringement lawsuit Microsoft is filing against Samsung will be withdrawn.

This is not the first royalty agreement Microsoft has entered with a company regarding the sale of Android devices. Microsoft has forged the same agreement with other Android device manufacturers, the most notable of these is with HTC, which is the other company that produces much of the Android devices on the market.

The decision to agree to a royalty payment is to keep Microsoft from suing these companies. Microsoft claims that no Android device they have seen has not infringed on any of Microsoft’s patents. The most crucial element in the suit though is not being made to the public – that is, what Microsoft patents are Android device manufacturers violating. Even though no one knows what (the exact patent infringements are not being made public) these Android manufacturers are violating, Microsoft’s previous lawsuits against Linux for precisely the same charges may shed a little light on the issue because Android is based on the Linux OS.

It’s ironic that Microsoft, which has shown how much it dislikes the Android OS entering the market, is also earning from its existence and success.

Originally posted on September 29, 2011 @ 8:01 am

Android vaults over iOS in Europe

By

This will definitely rattle Apple’s cage, even for just a moment.

According to study conducted by ComScore, a digital research company, the Android mobile operating system has increased in popularity in five significant European markets, overtaking Apple’s iOS, and becoming the second most popular mobile operating system in the area.

The ComScore study revealed that Android usage has dramatically increased over the year and is now firmly entrenched in second place behind Nokia’s Symbian OS, which is still the top mobile platform in many areas in Europe. [Read more…]

Originally posted on September 14, 2011 @ 4:34 pm