Samsungs

A surge in sales turned Android into the second biggest smartphone platform in the world last year, according to a new report from Gartner.

Unit sales of smartphones running Google's mobile OS grew 888.8 percent year over year, from 6.8 million in 2009 to 67.2 million in 2010. In terms of market share, that translates into major shift--from 3.9 percent in 2009 to 22.7 percent in 2010.

Sales received a strong kick in the fourth quarter due to demand for a number of high-end smartphones, including HTC's Evo 4G and Incredible, Samsung's Galaxy S series, … Read more

For a second-tier carrier in just 14 markets, MetroPCS has been grabbing some top-tier headlines. The latest is this morning's revelation that Metro will be the first to make commercially available a 4G LTE Android smartphone, the Samsung Galaxy Indulge.

Like its cohorts in the Galaxy range, the Indulge is an Android 2.2 (Froyo) slider phone with the Samsung TouchWiz interface and a slide-out QWERTY keyboard. It features a 3.5-inch HVGA resolution (800x480 pixels), 3-megapixel camera, and 32GB microSD card slot, and it runs on a 1GHz Hummingbird processor. The Indulge will cost $399 without a contract. … Read more

Android has swiped second place from Apple as it climbs the ranks of the top smartphone platforms in the U.S., ComScore reported yesterday.

In the fourth quarter, the Android operating system accounted for 28.7 percent of U.S. smartphone market share, edging out Apple's OS, which captured 25 percent of the market. That represents a reversal from the third quarter when ComScore tracked Android with a 21.4 percent share and Apple with 24.3 percent.

The rankings show BlackBerry maker Research In Motion still at the top. However, its 31.6 percent slice of the market … Read more

In 2010, the smartphone arena continued its shift with Apple and Android vendors grabbing a greater slice of the global market and Nokia and Research In Motion watching their shares drop, according to research firm IDC.

The year as a whole still found Nokia and BlackBerry maker RIM in first and second places, respectively, with the highest market shares and units shipped across the globe, according to IDC's latest "Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker," which was released today. But Nokia saw its annual market share fall to 33.1 percent, from 39 percent in 2009, while RIM'… Read more

Looking for a cheap ultracompact that may take pictures and probably won't burst into flames? The Samsung PL20 or ES80 might end your search.

The two cameras are essentially the same despite their very different naming. Both have a 5x f3.3-5.9 27-135mm-equivalent wide-angle lens, digital image stabilization, and are powered by a lithium ion rechargeable battery charged in camera via USB. They presumably have LCDs on back, but there's no mention of them in the press release; I'm going to go with 2.7-inch screens.

As for the differences, the $119.99 PL20 has a … Read more

Intel's Sandy Bridge chipset flaw is bringing some Best Buy new product rollouts to a screeching halt, according to representatives contacted at Best Buy stores.

Intel said Monday that it had stopped shipments of the chipset that accompanies its second-generation Intel Core ("Sandy Bridge") processor owing to a flaw that can affect access to a hard-disk drive, optical drive, or other device that connects to a computer using SATA technology.

As a result, PC makers including Hewlett-Packard, Dell, and Toshiba have pulled systems from online sales as well as suspending sales at retailers like Best Buy.

Though … Read more

Who needs a TV remote when you have a smartphone or tablet?

Samsung has released an app to the Android Market that turns your Android-powered Samsung smartphone (OS 2.1 or up) or Galaxy Tab tablet into a digital remote--so long as you use it with a compatible TV.

The Samsung TV Remote uses Wi-Fi to form a connection with the TV. A QWERTY keyboard, numbers, and directional arrows do the rest of the work.

The free remote app works with Samsung LED C6500 series and higher, the Samsung LCD C650 series and higher, and the Samsung Plasma C6500 series … Read more

The Android guys dig into Google's latest Honeycomb announcements and take a look at the new Android Market web store. In related news, hackers beat Motorola to the 'first Honeycomb tablet' punch with an unofficial 3.0 port for the NOOKcolor. Later, Justin Eckhouse and Antuan Goodwin ponder the merits of 3D technology for portables and debate the usefulness the Motorola Atrix 4G's wacky laptop dock in this week's edition of Android Atlas Weekly.

Google + Motorola … Read more

The reviews are in, and they're just what we expected: the iPhone 4 on Verizon is really good at making phone calls. But that might not be reason enough to leave AT&T: find out why. Plus, UBB is going down in Canada (we hope), UFOs are real (for as long as the Internet will let us believe it), and we finally get around to your thoughts and comments in the Meatback loop. It's everything we hoped it would be. Oh, and I bought a MacBook Air, no big deal. What? What's the big deal? --Molly