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Android Sees Substantial Growth Through January 2010

According to recent stats released from comScore Google’s Android jumped 4.3% in popularity from October 2009 through January 2010.

RIM is still the leader with a 43% market share, a 1.7% increase from October of 2009. Apple has gained 0.3% moving up from 24.8% to 25.1%. The bigger winner in comScore’s latest market share report is Google’s Android OS which jumped 4.3% from 2.8% to 7.1%.

Both Palm and Microsoft saw their numbers decline. Palm is down 2.1% from 7.8% to 5.7%. Microsoft dropped 4 percentage points from 19.7% to 15.7% market share.

comScore Reports January 2010 U.S. Mobile Subscriber Market Share

[via: comScore]

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Rumor: Sprint HTC Hero Android 2.1 Update To Come at Months End

Rumor: Update Coming March 26th?

According to a post over on XDA Developers forum the update to Android 2.1 for the Sprint HTC Hero is going to be rolling out March 26th.

According to fr33k0z0id who claims to work in ATS for Sprint: “…according to information I have received, the official release date for the 2.1 update is set for 3/26. So there you go, take it or leave it.”

In another post from fr33k0z0id: “I’m assuming its gonna be ota because they want to put a double warning on it since it wipes the Rom clean. Other than that, the email didn’t have much more info.”

They also claim that the Samsung Moment will see an update to 2.1 March 31st.

Take it for what it’s worth.

[via: xda developers forum]

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Rumor: HTC Incredible Replacing Droid Eris

HTC Incredible

What’s hard to believe about this information is that the source is also claiming that Verizon will be taking the Droid Eris end of life on the same date.  Why would HTC and Verizon put all the time and money into developing and testing the Eris just to take it end of life after five months of service.  Not to mention why is Verizon currently testing the Android 2.1 update for the Eris that’s scheduled to be released at the end of the first quarter if they’re going to take it off the shelf on the first day of the second quarter?

Another thing their source told them is that Verizon is viewing the Incredible as their version of the Nexus One.  Why would Verizon view the Incredible as their version of the Nexus One when they are in fact getting the Nexus One, rumored to be made available as soon as March 23rd.  Not to mention the Incredible only sports 256MBof RAM and 512MB of ROM, while the Nexus One boasts 512MB of RAM and ROM.

Things just don’t add up or make a whole lot of business sense for the two companies involved (HTC and Verizon).  Guess we’ll have to wait and see on this one.

[via: Berry Scoop]

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PC World Wireless Carrier Speed Test Results

Looking at the recent PC World wireless carrier speed test results it clearly shows that AT&T leads the way with fastest network.  That’s good for AT&T and it’s no wonder they’re focusing on the speed side of things.  However, if you look at the column to the right labeled “reliability” the real truth comes out.

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again; when it comes to choosing a wireless carrier one should always look at coverage, reliability, price and equipment selection before signing on the dotted line.  Selecting your carrier based on equipment selection only typically leads to a less than pleasurable experience.

While having a zippy network is great, what good is it if you can’t rely on your network to get the job done?

See results after the jump.

Read more…

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Rumor: HTC Legend Headed to Sprint

Boy Genius Report and a host of other Android sites are reporting that the HTC Legend may be headed to Sprint.  Here’s what we’ve been able to ascertain from the FCC filings.  Yesterday the HTC Legend garnered FCC approval, we see quad band GSM support but no 3G frequencies listed.  This means that  we don’t know which carrier it’s going to land on.

According to BGR they received word from a source close to HTC that a slightly modified Legend is in fact coming to Sprint.  BGR’s source also claims that the HTC Desire will be landing on AT&T some time in May or June.  If you recall the HTC Desire is basically the Nexus One running HTC’s Sense UI.

Contrary to what we heard from HTC about the Legend and Desire not coming to the US during the Mobile World Conference, the Legend is in fact headed our way.

[via: BGR]

See specs after the jump.

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Sales of Android Phones Jump 3.5% in 2009

Smartphones based on the Google Android Operating System saw growth last year, increasing their market share in 2009 by 3.5 percentage points. Sales of Android phones should continue to surge, though confusion over Google’s presence in the market could put a damper on growth, according to Gartner.

Roberta Cozza, principal research analyst at Gartner said:

“Android’s success experienced in the fourth quarter of 2009 should continue into 2010 as more manufacturers launch Android products, but some CSPs (communications service providers) and manufacturers have expressed growing concern about Google’s intentions in the mobile market.”  ”If such concerns cause manufacturers to change their product strategies or CSPs to change which devices they stock, this might hinder Android’s growth in 2010.”

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Verizon Droid Eris 2.1 Update Official Roll Out or Action of a Rogue Employee?

Word around the interwebs seems to indicate that Verizon has started rolling out the Android 2.1 update to the Droid Eris.

HTC confirmed yesterday via their Twitter account that the Droid Eris would in fact be receiving the update to 2.1, which was good news to Eris users who previously were told they were only being updated to 2.0.

Apparently the update doesn’t come without issues.  Updaters are reporting Google Sync issues, data being erased, and no update to HTC’s Sense UI.  We strongly recommend you backup all your data and remove your SD card before proceeding with the update if you receive a notification on your Eris.   Read more…

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Nine Verizon Phones to Get Unlimited Skype Calling

Nine Verizon smartphones with data plans will be able to make unlimited Skype-to-Skype calls, as well as calls to landline or mobile numbers.

The partnership brings Skype to both Blackberry and Android platforms on Verizon Wireless, which will start selling devices with Skype pre-installed in March . Skype over 3G will allow international calls at rates unavailable from traditional wireless carriers.

For example, calling Australia on Skype will cost $0.021 per minute, Verizon charges $0.17. The Verizon rate is over eight times the rate offered by Skype assuming the you’re paying the $3.99 monthly fee for an international calling plan. Without the plan, you’ll pay a whopping, $1.66 per minute. Read more…

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HTC Confirms Android 2.1 for Sprint Hero and Other Devices

HTC has confirmed via their Twitter account what Sprint has already told us about the upgrade to Android 2.1 for the Sprint Hero, they also included the Europe and Asia versions along with Verizon’s Droid Eris.

No word on when the updates will hit each device, but it’s nice to know that older HTC devices aren’t being left out in the cold! Read more…

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Sprint Updates 2.1 Release Info for Hero and Moment

Today via their Twitter account Sprint announced they’re working with HTC and Samsung on options to upgrade the HTC Hero and Samsung Moment.

They also updated their release timeline from first half of 2010 to early second quarter of 2010 for an update to Android 2.1 for the HTC Hero and Samsung Moment.  Considering we’re nearing the end of the first quarter and the fact that HTC debuted the HTC Legend and Desire both running Android 2.1 with the new Sense UI overlay and FriendStream widget, I wouldn’t be surprised to see an end of March/early April release of the upgrade for Sprint’s HTC Hero users. Read more…

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