Sprint ditches Google Nexus phone (USA)
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Google suffered a blow to its ambitions to sell its own smartphone after Sprint Nextel Corp announced that it is backing away from making Google Inc.’s Nexus One handset available on its network. Sprint marks second U.S. carrier to drop its commitment to sell the device manufactured by this Internet giant.
Currently, T-Mobile is the only US carrier to offer a wireless plan with the device. And those who want the device to run on AT&T will have to pay the full $529 price tag. Google’s plan shake up the existing wireless phone model by selling phones and service plans directly through its website and avoid the traditional wireless retailers has got another kick with Sprint’s decision.
Android devices have been hailed as superior alternatives by Sprint and Verizon Wireless, which is jointly owned by Verizon Communications Inc. and Vodafone Group PLC. Sprint is pushing upcoming Evo, the first U.S. device attuned with Sprint and Clearwire Corp.’s fourth-generation WiMax network.
Motorola rules over AdMob Android traffic
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: 96 percent of total Android traffic in March was generated by 11 device models out of 34 different Android-powered smartphones identified across the AdMob mobile advertising network.
32 percent of AdMob’s Android traffic was yielded by Motorola’s Droid which led all Android smartphones last month.
Nexus One owned by Google drove just 2 percent of Android traffic. 38 percent of AdMob’s Android traffic is accounted by devices running Android 1.5 and devices on Android 2.0/2.1 account for 35 percent and Android 1.6 account for 26 percent.
9% increase in the iPhone 3GS traffic share from 30% in September last year to 39% in March has also been recorded. Motorola led all Android manufacturers with 44 percent of traffic while HTC was close behind with 43% traffic. 54 percent of Android traffic originated via Qwerty keyboard-based devices. In total, worldwide traffic across the AdMob network grew 18 percent month-over-month, tallying close to 16.7 billion total requests.
Vodafone to launch Nexus One in Europe from April 1
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Google’s Nexus One will be directly sold by Vodafone through its stores and online in the UK from April 30. Google phone will go on sale in Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain and in France through SFR during May.
Pre-orders are also now being accepted by Vodafone UK for the Google Nexus One handset and the handset will be made available through Vodafone retail outlets, online and telesales. The Nexus One will sell with a range of Vodafone price plans, on both 18- and 24-month contracts, with prices starting from GBP 25 a month on a 24-month contract. Customers signing a two-year contract at GBP 35 per month will get it for free.
All the customers of Vodafone UK having Nexus One can use up to 1 GB of mobile data as part of their price plan. Besides, as unlimited access to Wi-Fi in the home and free, publicly available services throughout the country can also be used. An additional 1 GB of data at premium BT Openzone hotspots can be used by the customers using Wi-Fi throughout the UK.
Verizon not to offer Nexus One in the USA
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Expressing its allegiance towards Android-powered handsets, the largest U.S. mobile-phone company, Verizon Wireless has retreated from its plans to offer service for Google Inc.’s Nexus One phone. Nexus One popularity is expected to be severely hit as Google loses access to the carrier’s more than 90 million customers with the scrapping partnership with Verizon.
The entire new development has made Verizon a rival of Google rather than a partner. Analysts have advised investors to hold Google shares and don’t own any. Customers have to buy the device on Google’s Web site as the carriers aren’t allowed to sell the phone in their stores. Verizon probably sold less than half a million Nexus Ones since the phone’s January debut while AT&T didn’t endorse a version of the phone for its network technology.
Google’s attempt to establish itself has been blown by the loss it has incurred as it struggles against the iPhone, which is exclusively carried in the U.S. by AT&T. The iPhone’s software was shipped in 24.9 million phones worldwide last year, making up 14.4 percent of the market and the Android operating system made up 3.9 percent of sales.
Google to come up with its own tablet device
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: In its attempt to deal with the competition posed by the recently launched Apple iPad, Google is getting set to develop its very own tablet device based on the Android operating system. The company is working with the hopes to make its own apps marketplace available for new slate-like devices and has involved several hardware manufacturers with it.
While no announcement has been made by Google till now, there are signs of the device getting launched shortly. There are also rumors that Google is developing a slate device with HTC, the same company it brought Nexus One to market with, since January.
An e-book store is also on Google’s card which is expected to launch within the next few months. Many other companies are also expected to join the tablet race this year with the recent reports of Nokia Siemens developing its own device.
Google sells 135000 units of Nexus One in 1st 74 days
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Until now, around 135,000 units of Google’s Nexus One mobile phone have been sold. Over 80 percent of all iPhone OS and Android devices have downloaded applications embedded with Flurry which in turn has allowed the company to estimate total handset sales.
Nexus One has been compared with Apple’s iPhone by Flurry. Apple iPhone sold 1 million units within 74 days on the market. The best-selling Android phone to date, Motorola Droid sold 1.05 million units in the same period.
It has been estimated that by March 19, only 135,000 units of Nexus One will be sold in its first 74 days on the market.
Vodafone delays the launch of Nexus One (UK)
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: The planned release of a contract version of the HTC-manufactured Nexus One smartphone on Vodafone has been delayed till the middle of next month, due to unknown reasons.
While the Android-based handset can be easily availed from Google for around £360, what potentially is adding to both delays and cost in the form of import tax and VAT, is the availability of unlocked contract-free version from the USA.
Earlier it was planned that handset will be made available on various Vodafone contracts starting at £35 per month. No explanations regarding the delay have been made by the company despite the fact that by releasing the Nexus One in April, it will clash with HTC Legend, another HTC-manufactured Android-based smartphone.
Google develops NDK r3- An enhanced OpenGL support
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Android Native Development Kit revision 3 (NDK r3) has been released by Google providing expanded capabilities to Android developers. Enhanced support for OpenGL ES 2.0 is the most interesting characteristics for the end user which will offer improved graphics rendering through vertex and fragment shader programs.
Devices running Android 1.5 and higher is the target of the new NDK r3, Android 2.0 and higher devices, like the Motorola Droid or the Google Nexus One will be supported by the enhanced OpenGL.
Besides, refreshed binaries in line with the GNU Compiler Collection (GCC) 4.4.0 will also be offered by the new Android NDK r3. According to Google, the new Android Native Development Kit revision 3 will generate more compact and efficient machine code.
Google backs HTC against Apple lawsuit
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Setting a stage for a major battle between Google and Apple, HTC, the handset manufacturer of Google, has got Google’s support against the lawsuit in which Apple has accused it of infringing 20 hardware and software patents.
The patents relate to user interface, underlying architecture and hardware of the iPhone and cite the Nexus One, the Google-branded phone launched by the internet search company in January.
Free Android operating system developed by Google is used by HTC to manufacture Nexus One and several other new touchscreen phones and the biggest commercial threat to the dominance of the iPhones have been posed by these Androids. iPhone’s intuitive touchscreen controls and features has been challenged for the first time by the Nexus One, made by HTC to Google’s specifications.
Technology enabling the phone’s touchscreen to detect more than one finger touch at a time, and featured on the Nexus One last month by Google has been one of the topics of the patent infringement. The technology also allows a user to zoom in or out by spreading their fingers apart or pinching them together.
According to a Google spokeswoman, the company is not a party to the lawsuit but would stand behind its Android operating system and the partners who have helped the company to develop it.
