Smartphone

Though only a month old, Apple's new iOS 4 has found its way onto 50 percent of a sample 9 million iPhones tracked by ad network Chitika, according to stats released Monday.

Among 9 million iPhone impressions seen across Chitika's network, iOS 4 holds a slight lead over iOS 3, which was found on 49 percent of the phone's traffic. The overwhelming majority of devices included in the sampling were iPhones, according to Chitika, while a handful (just under half a percent) were iPod Touch devices.

On a more granular level, the initial July 21 release of iOS 4.0 … Read more

When you look at the high-end Android phones available today, you might notice that there are relatively few devices with sliding QWERTY keyboards.

Aside from the forthcoming Droid 2 and Samsung Epic 4G, there are no other devices with a 1GHz processor and a physical keyboard. However, there are rumors that HTC and T-Mobile will also have a device to add to the bunch.

The phone, according to rumors, is expected to arrive with a 1GHz processor, a 3.7-inch WVGA screen, and HTC Sense user interface. According to the rumors, it will also be HSPA+ capable, which means it … Read more

Amid reports that HTC is working hard to bring its Sense user interface to Windows Phone 7 gadgets, there's been at least one reported sighting of just such a phone that lacks Sense.

A tipster has shared with Engadget some details of a "mystery HTC Windows Phone 7 device" that the gadget blog describes as likely a developer build with hardware that's ready to go. But the phone doesn't seem to have a Sense skin atop the Windows Phone 7 OS, according to the report.

Smartphone makers typically tweak the user interface of the handsets … Read more

This is turning into one of those charming cage matches in which wrestlers desperately try to maim each other with chains and chairs and blows to very private regions.

In a new video, posted to both its own Web site and to YouTube, Apple attempts to show that the dazzling new Motorola Droid X, which many seem to rather appreciate, also has something of an issue when it comes to being held in the Death Grip.

You know, the grip where you wrap your fingers round your cell phone, and the onscreen signal bars drop like a swooning '50s starlet?… Read more

In the race for new customers, does Verizon even need the iPhone, at this point?

Apparently, the carrier's bevy of Google Android phones is working out nicely. Both Verizon Wireless and AT&T reported their quarterly earnings this week, and Verizon's new subscriptions actually outpaced those of AT&T, as The Wall Street Journal pointed out Friday.

Verizon signed up 665,000 new wireless customers during the last three months, while AT&T signed up 496,000. That was actually a 40 percent dip from a year ago for Verizon, but it shows that AT&… Read more

Microsoft has updated its agreement with chip design firm ARM, making the software giant capable of designing its own chips--in theory, at least.

The new pact is an architecture license, which allows Microsoft to design its own ARM chips, much like Qualcomm does with its Snapdragon processors used in products such as the Dell Streak tablet and Google's Nexus One smartphone.

ARM is one of the most prolific chip designers in the world, with its designs used in everything from Apple's iPhone and iPad to high-tech toys and handheld calculators.

"ARM is an important partner for Microsoft, and we deliver multiple operating systems on the company's architecture, most notably Windows Embedded and Windows Phone," KD Hallman, general manager of strategic software and silicon architectures at Microsoft, said in a statement. "With closer access to the ARM technology, we will be able to enhance our research and development activities for ARM-based products."

Microsoft is not commenting further on the agreement, and details will remain confidential.

There are a couple of interesting possibilities, according to Nathan Brookwood, the principal analyst at Insight 64. "If you're going to build your own (processing) cores, that's expensive and time-consuming. You really need to think that you can outdesign the group of designers at ARM,"… Read more

The second quarter saw 60 million smartphones shipped around the world, a 43 percent jump from a year ago, according to a study released Thursday by research firm Strategy Analytics.

Growth was driven by robust subsidies from carriers, strong competition between high-end vendors, and a rising selection of lower-cost phones running systems like Android and Symbian, according to the study. Overall, smartphones accounted for 19 percent of all handsets shipped during the period.

But the dizzying array of smartphones and the increasingly competitive market could pose a challenge to manufacturers trying to ramp up profits.

"The global smartphone industry is growing volume, but the industry's value is beginning to feel the effects of intensifying competition," Neil Mawston, director at Strategy Analytics and the author of the study, said in a statement. "Dozens of vendors from the telecoms, PC and consumer electronics industries are piling into the market and driving down prices. Even established brands such as Nokia, RIM, and Apple are finding it increasingly hard to raise prices and profits in the face of such fierce competition."

Among the three major smartphone players, Nokia's market share dipped slightly to 40.3 percent compared with 40.7 percent in 2009's second quarter. Second-place Research in Motion saw its slice of the market fall to 18.8 percent from 19.3 percent a year-ago. And third-place Apple watched its share grow to 14.1 percent from 12.5 percent in last year's quarter.… Read more

Nokia reported Thursday a 40 percent drop in second-quarter earnings.

The Finland-based mobile phone maker took home a profit of 227 million euros ($291 million), down from the 380 million euros a year earlier. Sales for the quarter that ended June 30 were virtually flat, inching up 1 percent to 10 billion euros from 9.9 billion a year ago.

The company's share of the mobile phone market dropped to 33 percent for the quarter, compared with 35 percent in the second quarter last year.

However, it did sell 111 million phones in the quarter, an 8 percent rise … Read more

By now, there's a good chance you've seen TV commercials for the Samsung Galaxy S like the one above, but unless you're a cell phone fanatic or follow tech news, the ad can be a little ambiguous. Is the Galaxy S one phone or a group of phones? Are all the carriers getting the same model and when will they be released?

Here's what you need to know. The Galaxy S was first introduced as a single model--the i9000, to be exact--at CTIA 2010 and later shipped to more than 100 wireless providers worldwide.

With … Read more