Android

Better wipe the face grease off that smartphone if you've got one: Yahoo plans to bring video chat to users of its mobile chat application.

In an interview yesterday with Reuters, Yahoo's VP of Mobile for the Americas, David Katz told the news outlet that the feature was on the way to the next version of the company's messenger app for both Android devices and the iPhone.

The video chat feature, which is said to work over both Wi-Fi and through carrier's networks, will also be cross-platform, allowing users on their phone to video chat with … Read more

The first beta of Firefox 4 for Android arrived Thursday, offering users of Google's mobile operating system a browser interface with both smart new features and some weaknesses.

I tried the new beta on HTC's Google Nexus One, and I came away impressed overall--far more satisfied than with unstable and slower nightly builds for developers that I'd tried before. It's not going to be my default phone browser at this stage, but I'm not going to uninstall it, either.

Fennec background Before we get to my impressions, though, here's the background. Mozilla is trying … Read more

SAN FRANCISCO--We took advantage of HTC's presence at the fall CTIA show to get our first hands-on with the company's new Desire HD Android smartphone. HTC introduced the handset last month at a London press conference, and is now showing it off to the world.

In many ways, the Desire HD is a close relative of the Evo 4G, though minus the 4G service. It has the same basic shape, with a brilliant 4.3-inch display, and it feels about the same when held in the hand. The touch controls below the display are somewhat different, and the … Read more

Google TV is here, Android Sued again, and all the CTIA news you can handle, All that and more coming up on this week's edition of Android Atlas Weekly.

Google TV http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2370416,00.asp

Microsoft sues Motorola over Android http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/microsoft-sues-motorola-over-android/?news=123

Google spits back at Oracle’s Android suit http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/10/06/google_answers_oracle_android_lawsuit/

Nielsen report shows smartphone buyers flocking to … Read more

HTC has flipped the switch on its new HTCSense.com Web site ahead of the launch of its new Desire handsets.

Designed to let users manage their Sense UI smartphone, the site provides you with the ability to locate a lost or misplaced phone using a map, as well as an option to turn the ringer up to full volume should you need to call the device. This will come in handy for those of us who tend to lose our phones in the cracks of a couch. If your phone is stolen, HTCSense.com will also let users remotely … Read more

A French fellow who goes by the handle Crazy Nawak e-mailed me some concept photos for a "multi-OS" smartphone from HTC that would allow you to switch between two operating systems. HTC already has the old HTC Touch Dual, but the "dual' in that phone stood for the combination of a slide-out keypad and a touch screen.

This fantasy model has a 1.5 GHz dual-core Snapdragon processor and runs both Windows Mobile 7 and Android 2.2 (see more photos here). Of course, plenty of people out there have already hacked Windows Mobile phones to run … Read more

Android continues to gobble up more smartphone customers, according to the new stats from market researcher ComScore.

Looking at the three months ending August, Android's market share rose to 19.6 percent in the U.S.--a gain of 6.6 points from the prior three months. Though Google's smartphone platform is still third among the top five, it was the only one to show growth in market share for the period.

Among the other major players, RIM was the leading smartphone platform with 37.6 percent of U.S. subscribers. Apple was next in line with 24.… Read more

Currently Apple offers only the newest generation of the iPhone, in one form factor, as well as one version of last year's model. A new report from Kaufman Bros. analyst Shaw Wu suggests Apple may be looking to diversify its iPhone offerings.

Wu's supply chain checks have reportedly revealed that Apple is sourcing a variety of touch-screen options, both smaller and larger than Apple's current 3.5-inch offering, though the report does not mention what specific sizes those would be.

Some feel that Apple must diversify its iPhone lineup due to increased competition from Android-based phones, citing … Read more

SAN FRANCISCO--The Samsung Transform is one of three new smartphones that Sprint announced at the fall CTIA show here. And shortly after the carrier's official show press conference, we stopped by the Samsung booth to give the Transform a test run.

With a 3.5-inch touch screen, a slider design, and a full alphabetic keyboard, the Transform's design is nothing we haven't seen before. Yet, that's not to say it's unattractive. The device has a comfortable feeling in the hand, and the keyboard is spacious and comfortable even if the keys are rather flush. We … Read more