Mobile

SAN FRANCISCO--Among the many questions raised in the wake of Google's announcement of Chrome OS is exactly how the project fits in with Google's Android mobile operating system.

Essentially, nothing has changed, said Google's Andy Rubin at a press conference Friday morning highlighting Google and T-Mobile's partnership on the launch of the new MyTouch 3G smartphone. "You need different technology for different products," Rubin said, explaining that Google's approach to product development means that projects that might overlap aren't necessarily scuttled to protect the one that got there first.

Android is first … Read more

This was originally posted at ZDNet's Between the Lines.

Sprint Nextel will outsource its network to Ericsson in a seven-year deal valued at $4.5 billion to $5 billion.

The deal, announced Thursday, allows Sprint to offload the costs associated with running its network. Sprint will transfer 6,000 employees to Ericsson.

Ericsson will now handle all the day-to-day operations and maintenance. The transfer of the network and the employees that go with them is set to happen by the end of the third quarter.

Steve Elfman, Sprint's president of network operations and wholesale, said on a conference … Read more

The summer of the smartphone is heating up as Research In Motion is set to introduce on Sunday its latest BlackBerry device, called the Tour. But will it be enough to keep RIM king of the smartphone market?

The BlackBerry Tour is hitting store shelves at an important time for RIM, which has been reportedly taking a sales hit as carriers promote exclusive phones, such as the Palm Pre on Sprint Nextel's network and the Apple iPhone 3GS on AT&T's network, according to Michael Walkley of Piper Jaffray.

Walkley said in a research note published this … Read more

The Symbian Foundation has released its first open-source software package, the first step in the organization's plan to eventually open-source the entire Symbian mobile operating system.

The Symbian Foundation was set up by in June 2008 by Nokia, Motorola, Sony Ericsson, NTT DoCoMo, Texas Instruments, Vodafone, Samsung, LG, and AT&T to oversee the development of the Symbian OS as an open-source platform, licensed under the Eclipse Public Licence (EPL). The OS had previously been developed as proprietary software by the Symbian Foundation.

On Wednesday, Symbian made available its first package covered by the EPL, the OS Security … Read more

The developers of the LiveAndroid project have released the second alpha version of their software, which allows users to try out Google's mobile operating system without having to install it on a handset.

LiveAndroid, a project based in Beijing, released its first alpha, or prototype, in May. Version 0.2, released on Monday, added major functions such as a mouse-controlled cursor, keyboard functionality and Ethernet connectivity. Other functions, such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and audio, remain to be added, according to the developers.

In a Twitter update, the developers said a version running from a USB memory stick may also … Read more

NEW YORK--T-Mobile USA is betting big on its second Android smartphone, the MyTouch 3G, as it officially launches the device making it its flagship smartphone to compete against Apple's iPhone on AT&T.

The company announced the MyTouch 3G, which is essentially the same phone as the Google Ion or the HTC Magic, last month. And on Wednesday T-Mobile made the device available for pre-orders to its existing customers. The device will be generally available starting August 5.

The MyTouch is the second smartphone the carrier has introduced that uses Google's open-source mobile operating system, Android. T-Mobile … Read more

Kids from two to 11 years of age are spending 63 percent more time online than they did five years ago, says a report released Monday from Nielsen Online. Children in that age range were online an average of 11 hours in May 2009 versus just 7 hours in May 2004.

Over the past five years, the total number of kids surfing the Net has shot up 18 percent to 16 million, says the report, while the overall Internet population has risen only 10 percent. The younger set now represents 9.5 percent of the online community.

Online use among … Read more

If you thought a $99 Netbook was a bargain, Sprint Nextel's plan to sell Netbooks for a buck is a real steal.

Sprint has teamed up with mega-retailer Best Buy to sell the Compaq Mini 110c-1040DX Netbook for 99 cents with a two-year service contract. The offer is good at participating Best Buy stores.

Best Buy plans to sell the same Netbook for Verizon Wireless and AT&T for $199.99 with a two-year contract. Without any service contract, the Netbook costs $389.99, according to Best Buy's Web site.

The Compaq Mini 110c-1040DX Netbook features a … Read more

O2 will be the exclusive carrier of the Palm Pre in the U.K., Palm announced Tuesday.

The operator already has U.K. exclusivity for the iPhone. It is also set to bring out an Android phone soon, in the shape of the Samsung i7500, but that may not be an exclusive release.

"We are fast becoming the home of the smartphone with the addition of the hotly anticipated Palm Pre to our already extensive portfolio," Telefonica Europe chief executive Matthew Key said in a statement. "Our customers will be the first outside of North America to … Read more