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Skype Exits Verizon’s Walled Garden (Android)

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Android fans outside of Verizon’s network no longer have to envy their iPhone and Nokia buddies as Skype is officially available for those who embrace the green robot.

You’ve been asking us for it – and now it’s here. Skype is now available on a wide range of Android phones, so you can save money and stay in touch when you’re out and about. Visit skype.com/m on your phone to download, or read on to find out what’s inside.

With the new app, you can make free Skype-to-Skype calls, and send and receive IMs for free, one-to-one or with a group. You can also call phones at Skype’s great rates – over WiFi or 3G. (Official Skype Blog)

Truthfully it was always puzzling as to why Skype decided to make their app exclusive to Verizon despite the fact that doing so limited their service to between 1/2 and 1/3 of US customers despite Androids global footprint.

Fortunately it seems as if Skype execs have seen the light, as Skype is available on all Android powered devices unless one lives in Japan or China.

Unfortunately if you have a Samsung Galaxy S you are more or less out of luck, but hopefully Skype will be able to rectify this soon (as users are reportedly unable to sing into their Skype accounts.).

Originally posted on October 5, 2010 @ 1:18 pm

Another Day, Another Android Lawsuit (Google)

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With Android poised on supplanting iOS as the dominant mobile operating system in the west, it looks like another company has come forward with a lawsuit against the search engine giant (who is currently in the midst of battling Oracle).

Gemalto NV sued Google Inc. and phonemakers HTC Corp., Motorola Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., claiming the Android mobile-phone operating system used its technology without permission.

The manufacturer of digital-security technology filed the patent-infringement suit against the companies in Texas federal court on Oct. 22, according to the complaint. Gemalto said the development platform for Android improperly includes its Java Card technology, which allows software written in Java and other “high-level programming languages” to run on mobile phones. (Bloomberg)

Although it’s not surprising that Germalto NV is suing Google (who truth be told receives a lot of lawsuits in the US, many of them frivolous), Germalto NV’s strategy of suing manufactors seems to be aimed at thwarting Android’s expansion by scarring off potential partners.

Germalto NV surprisingly isn’t going after other manufacturers (like Dell) who also make Android smartphones (although truth be told HTC, Motorola and Samsung are the top 3 selling Android devices in the US).

While it’s doubtful that this legal squabble will thwart Android’s path towards global domination, Germalto NV’s latest lawsuit could slow down adoption by smaller manufacturers (the latter who probably lack the money to burn on patent attorneys).

Originally posted on October 25, 2010 @ 4:22 pm

Steve Jobs Android Rant: Logical Or Ludicrous??

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Cupertino’s super hero made a rare appearance on Apple’s conference call yesterday, giving the world his opinion about rumors and rivals, the former which centered around why iPad Nano will never see the light of day.

While Steve Jobs was correct about highlighting RIM’s failure in the mobile space (which truth be told isn’t surprising to anyone unless you’re AT&T or RIM), he did go off on a rant regarding Android’s “fragmented mess.” [Read more…]

Originally posted on October 19, 2010 @ 1:04 pm

HP To Phone Geeks: The Palm Pre 2 Cometh

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With the smartphone wars heating up between iOS and Android (with RIM limping along via Blackberry), it looks like HP is going to enter the fight with the unveiling of Palm Pre 2.

New ways to get in touch, stay connected, juggle life, and accomplish more. Available in the coming months.

Start an email, create a message, update your status, search your favorite websites—all without having to launch an app.1 With webOS 2.0, whenever you want to do something on your phone, whether it’s emailing, texting, searching, or almost anything, just type. (Palm.com)

Note: Emphasis mine.

According to rumors HP will be launching Palm Pre 2 upon Verizon in the US in January, although if you’re in France you should be able to snag the device this week.

Unlike the iDevice, Palm Pre 2 will support Flash, which should help the HP remain competitive against not only Apple but Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 (the latter which will also support Flash).

Although HP has yet to reveal any extra juicy details regarding its “iPad killer” (i.e. PalmPad), its good to see HP resurrecting Palm from the dead, although hopefully the company will be able to convince developers that webOS is worth their energy (let alone time).

(via Daring Fireball)

Originally posted on October 19, 2010 @ 4:13 pm

Filed Under: HP

Apple To iLovers: Flash Not Included (Macs)

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While Apple’s war against all things Flash isn’t surprising regarding their iOS devices, it looks the company is no longer installing Adobe’s favored program upon their notebook and Macs either.

I asked Apple whether this change would be applied across the entire the Mac product line, and they confirmed to me that it would. Existing Macs currently in the retail channel naturally still have Flash Player preinstalled, but in the coming weeks, all new Macs will begin shipping without Flash Player. (Daring Fireball)

This change also affects the new Macbook Air as well, although unlike iOS devices like the iPhone and iPad, users will be able to install flash upon their computer, although truth be told they could simply download Google Chrome (which bakes Adobe flash right in).

While the lack of Flash will probably not slow down the demand of Apple’s computers (especially with Cupertino finally rolling out a Mac Store for its iFans), it may signal Apple’s whole hearted embrace of the HTML5 gospel (which Apple’s CEO has been heavily promoting in place of Flash).

Originally posted on October 22, 2010 @ 3:12 pm