smartphones

Ad requests and impressions for mobile ad network Millennial Media show a surge for Android devices and the iPad. Meanwhile, Apple overall is maintaining its commanding lead but has slipped a bit lately.

In its August MobileMix report, Millennial Media found that ad requests (the number of times a mobile ad is clicked on) for Android rose 39 percent since July and have shot up 996 percent since January. Ad impressions (the number of times an ad is displayed) for Google's OS rose 7 percent from the prior month to help it capture 26 percent of all smartphone operating … Read more

If you thought location-aware search and other mobile mapping technologies were cool, hold onto your hat. A new wave of innovation in the mobile market will bring augmented reality to smartphones, allowing users to interact virtually with their surroundings.

Augmented reality, or AR, is a term that refers to technology that superimposes computer-generated content over live images viewed through cameras. The technology, which has been used in gaming and in military applications on computers, has been around for years. But thanks to more sophisticated devices, faster wireless broadband networks, and new developments at the chip level by companies like Qualcomm, it has become inexpensive enough to put into smartphones and tablets.

Even though these are still the early days for the technology--chip vendors like Qualcomm are just now giving demonstrations--augmented reality could have a major impact on smartphones in the coming years.

"The idea that a mobile device knows where I am and can access, manipulate, and overlay that information on real images that are right in front of me really gets my science fiction juices flowing," said Mark Donovan, senior analyst at ComScore. "It's just beginning now, and it will likely be one of the most interesting trends in mobile in the next few years."

Just as location-based services have begun to change how wireless subscribers use their cell phones and marketers reach an increasingly mobile audience, augmented reality will go a step further, bringing a wealth of collected data to users' fingertips.

Today, GPS and other location-based technologies allow people to track and find friends on the go. It allows them to "check in" at particular locations. In other words, wireless subscribers provide information about their surroundings, such as where they are, and that information is stored and shared with others via the Internet cloud. That information can be used so friends can locate you, or it can be used by marketers to send you coupons and other promotions.… Read more

Welcome to the 411, my column answering all your questions about cell phones and cell phone accessories. I receive plenty of questions about these subjects via e-mail, so I figured many of you might have similar queries, too. At times, I might solicit answers from readers if I'm stumped. Send your questions and comments to me at nicole.lee@cnet.com. If you prefer to remain anonymous, let me know in the e-mail.

In light of BlackBerry DevCon happening right now, I decided to take this opportunity to answer a few of your BlackBerry-related questions.

I'm excited about … Read more

Consumers are ready to dump their landlines, move to Internet and video calls, and use their mobile devices to call internationally, according to a new survey from Harris Interactive.

While there are many reasons why consumers are looking to switch, the survey data based on a sample size of 2,258 U.S. adults 18 and over suggests that the increasing ubiquity of mobile phones is the primary driver. This is not terribly surprising but does show the vast opportunity still awaiting application developers who can crack the mobile market and evade the carriers.

Here are some tidbits from the … Read more

If you're like me, you might have been on a fruitless hunt for a customized iPhone case that touts your beloved sports team, only to discover nobody seems to have any. Is it critical for me to own an iPhone case themed after the New York Jets? Hardly, but I'm a superstitious fellow and I like my digital trinkets and amulets.

Coveroo, which makes custom cases for iPhones, BlackBerries, iPods, iPads, and many other devices, doesn't actually have an NFL teams license, although it does have a license for NFL players. They have NBA and MLB licenses, … Read more

The activity around Windows Phone 7 is starting to pick up and with it are some new rumors of launch dates.

According to Paul Thurrott of Windows Phone Secrets, the U.S. market will see devices launch on November 8, whereas Europe will get them a bit earlier, starting October 21. Microsoft has not confirmed these dates, but it fits the timeline given in our earlier report.

What we do know for sure is that Microsoft will hold an Open House in New York on October 11, as well as a press conference in London on the same day. As … Read more

Research In Motion is known for basically one thing: making reliable smartphones that brought e-mailing from a phone to the mainstream. But it might be branching out very soon.

The Canadian company is the largest smartphone purveyor in the U.S., and despite the surging sales of Apple iPhones and Google Android-powered devices, RIM has held its ground--for now. Its BlackBerry accounts for 41 percent of smartphones in the U.S., and is second overall worldwide after Nokia.

But even though RIM has been able to hold on to its lead in smartphones, Apple's iOS software and Android are not staying put there. Both are moving on to bigger, more powerful mobile devices: touch-screen tablets. The iPad's runaway success has created a new device category for consumers who want to buy something that's lighter than a laptop and easier to type and browse on than a smartphone. And almost everyone is jumping in: Dell, HP, and Samsung are looking to get a piece of this market early on, too, which analysts expect to hit 15 million units this year, and more than 20 million next year.

RIM, somewhat surprisingly, is one of those with its eye on this market. Since the spring, reports have leaked out that the company was testing a tablet to work in conjunction with its smartphone. RIM was found to have bought the domain name "Blackpad.com," which has led some to nickname the yet-to-be confirmed device "BlackPad."

Word came last week that the company might even introduce the device today, when President and Co-CEO Mike Lazaridis and other execs take the stage at the annual developer gathering, RIM DevCon, in San Francisco. The device is not expected, however, to ship until closer to the end of the year.

If it does offer a sneak peek, it's a bold move to do it in the same venue Apple uses to announce its new iPhone every year (San Francisco's Moscone Center), but not more so than RIM actually making a tablet in the first place.

If RIM trots out a sister device to the BlackBerry, like a touch-screen tablet, it's a sign that the company isn't resigned to letting Apple and Android steal its market share without a good fight.… Read more

I am sure you were, as I was, worried. When a Windows Phone 7 ad appeared that promised revolution, one felt several unnecessary revolutions in one's normally placid parts.

However, two new ads, which appear slightly unfinished, have leaked via WMPowerUser, and there is no hammer and sickle, no mention of Cuba, not even some sad, slick promise that your life will be revolutionized. (It does, however, appear that some of the scenes were shot in Budapest.)

Instead, very cleverly, Microsoft is suggesting you get a life. One that doesn't involve staring into your phone all day. The … Read more

Despite a somewhat tepid reception last year for an earlier version of the iPhone, customers in China turned out in force today to try to get their hands on the latest incarnation, the iPhone 4, as it made its debut in the country.

According to various reports, more than 1,000 people mobbed the new Apple Store in Beijing's Joy City shopping mall today, and carrier China Unicom said it had taken almost 50,000 preorders for the device in one day. That compares with a mere 5,000 iPhones sold last year during the first weekend that the … Read more