By Megan Fleet

Every brand and company has its shtick, its M.O., its press friendly sound bytes. Google is no different when espousing the virtues of its Google Android operating system at each event they are able to use a soapbox and spread their smartphone evangelism. The main gospel is the Android culture of openness and the lack of limitations is to the benefit of the consumer.

This is great PR spin. And this writer truly loves a good euphemism laced with truth. So, while Android is more open that its competitors, it is comparative. When held up to open-source software like Linux, it is actually quite closed. Hence, a Hollywoodesque Benniffer moniker is bound to catch: Clopen.

At the moment, Google makes the Android OS source code available to companies and individuals to customize to their liking. Very open and transparent, non? Flip side of this coin is the Google mobile suite: Gmail, Android Market, Google Maps, and the long list of “Google” stamped functions. These are closed sourced. The double talk is confusing for customers. Especially when end users purchase a no-Market Android device. Not good PR.

Throw in the custom skins and fragmentations used by the varied carriers and manufacturers and there is a varying standard of quality for the smartphones bearing the Android and Google names. This is damaging to a brand. In fact, Marketing Land’s Danny Sullivan wrote that these quality control discrepancies are resulting in customers with outdated devices in their hands. This particular quirk can be addressed with accessories (protective cases, upgraded screen skins etc), but what is under the hood is harder to resolve.

Case in point: the latest Android OS release, Ice Cream Sandwich. Various manufacturers have hedged and speculated about when the update would be available and on what phones and what carriers (at least with an unlocked phone, the customer will have more say in to get the latest Android OS). As of right now, only one physical device has the update on it. The flagship Android phone, Galaxy Nexus. Newer devices like the DROID RAZR, DROID Bionic, and the Rezound should see the update later in 2012, but there are many others like the LG Revolution (launched only 7 months ago) that will never get the ICS upgrade treatment because of the carrier (please see above note about unlocked phones!).

Luckily for customers, the Open Handset Alliance which encompasses major US players (LG, HTC, Motorola, T-Mobile, Verizon, Sprint, and AT&T to name a few) which has pledged with Google to bring an end to fragmentation and bring the latest Android OS to devices if the smartphone release is 18 months old or younger.

By Aldo Panessidi

It is common knowledge that both Apple and Google are the foremost thought leaders in the technology industry and as a result have secured global dominance of the smartphone OS market space. What is surprising is reviewing the numbers and trends that show an astronomical growth for the two giants over the course of 18 months. As can be seen in chart provided by comScore – the leading provider of online digital world measurement metrics – U.S. mobile subscribers are used to demonstrate the dramatic transition in market shares in the ever growing smartphone market. Discover the benefits of online shopping…. experience the largest assortment of wireless device accessories at the lowest prices on the Internet.

In less than a year and a half (between August 2010 and November 2011), the combined U.S. market share for Google and Apple – based on the number of mobile subscribers of iPhones and Android phones – jumped from 43.8 percent to 75.6 percent! When one considers the exponential growth of the mobile market and the rapid consumer adoption of wireless devices such as unlocked cell phones and tablets as well as for the associated branded protective accessories… it becomes apparent how staggering the revenue potential of these combined markets really is.

Another drastic market shift is the fall of beleaguered Canadian high-tech giant, Research In Motion. RIM has been plagued with technology based challenges, security issues, lackluster apps, production setbacks, numerous litigations and dismal product design, which all contributed to its fall from grace. Losing subscribership in the 18 month period, RIM’s BlackBerry market share dropped from 37.6 percent to 19.7 percent. Microsoft didn’t fare any better when it’s popularity poll was cut almost in half. Lastly, market laggard, Palm who? Enhance your mobility and turn your device into a power tool! Discover select accessories, such as stylus & pens, SD Micro memory cards, batteries, speakers and glider gloves all specifically designed to make your devices functionally efficient and performance rich.

So how and why did Android and Apple win over so many consumers? Analysts and industry experts seem to agree that unlocked phones for carrier neutrality, provided subscribers with the freedom to break away from being tied in with long term service provider contracts and negotiate lower priced service plans that best met their lifestyle needs . Secondly, the branding of not only the device, but the wide array of innovative top brand accessories drew customers in. Leaving your valuable mobile devices unprotected is risky! Discover the latest innovative protection solutions of stylish top brand bags, sleeves and cases specially designed to protect your devices from scratches and blemishes with our. Tough on the outside, sweet on the inside our brand name protection accessories combine complete device coverage with sleek artistic expression.

Apple has recently acquired Siri, a company that makes a virtual assistant app.  Siri was inspired by Darpa’s CALO – the Cognitive Assistant that Learns and Organizes – project.  While Siri was initially designed to help streamline military personnel’s activities the consumer app now focuses on helping your find things like restaurants, hotels, businesses and even utilizes speech recognition tools.  This app is essentially a smart search app and has people speculating about the direction that Apple might be taking.  Many industry experts feel that this acquisition is leading Apple into Google territory.

While the terms of the acquisition are not known Business Insider guesses the deal could be worth $100 to $200 million.  A deal of that magnitude would definitely signal a commitment to this new type of technology for Apple.  The technology that Siri can bring to the table for Apple’s various consumer electronics will certainly enhance the user experience of iPod Touch, iPhone and iPad users.

This recent announcement is one of the more exciting announcements to come from the mobile device world this week.  It certainly does appear that Apple is looking to make a leap into the mobile app department and this acquisition of the start up company Siri will certainly go a long way in making that a successful transition.  With the technology Siri has created Apple will be able to add a lot of cool search features into various apps and make their mobile devices truly GPS user friendly.  It will be very handy if you were able to speak into your iPhone and ask your personal assistant app where the nearest coffee shop was and quickly receive directions to several different options that you can walk to.

In a rather seemingly interesting move mobile device manufacturer Motorola has decided to remove Google’s locations services from their mobile devices in favor of those from Skyhook.  Motorola states that they are proudly become the “first Android device maker to abandon Google for its location services.”  The device maker is set to add Skyhook’s GPS, WiFi and cellular location to the “vast majority” of its phone models, like the Motorola Milestone.  This news apparently has developers giddy as the Skyhook technology is hardcoded into the OS which means every single app can reap the benefits.

It is still unclear why Motorola would want to distance itself from Google like this by using Skyhook’s technology to power all of the GPS, WiFi and cellular location for their mobile devices.  It will be interesting to see what sorts of apps developers will be able to come up with now that they will have access to all of this GPS technology.  I am sure there are some really cool features that they will be able to add to many different apps.

Also, it would be intriguing to see how consumers react to Motorola’s Android devices when they are lacking the familiar Google technology.  Many consumers have become accustomed to these various technologies so it will be interesting to see how they react to the new Motorola devices.  Ultimately if smartphone consumers do like the way that these features function on these various new Motorola phones it would be pretty hard for the mobile device manufacturer to continue making these devices.  While I think this could be a good thing for the Android market and really push device makers to enhance their products like the Motorola Cliq and include new features when new devices are released I will be sitting back and seeing just how good Skyhook’s technology really is first.

Google has recently made a major update to Maps for Mobile that is available on the BlackBerry platform.  Maps for Mobile 4.0 will offer BlackBerry users a whole slew of new features.  Included in these features are voice search, Buzz integration, starred locations and Labs for Maps.

The voice search feature lets users speak their search queries and then Google will return results and show them on a map relative to the user’s location.  Buzz integration will allow users to post content to their Buzz accounts from the Maps application.  While this feature from Google has to take off in popularity it certainly has the chance to be one of the next big social media phenoms.  Users will also have the ability to access places they’ve starred on the desktop version of Maps from their mobile device as well as test out some of the experimental features in Labs for Maps.  This new software is available today for download.  Google also created a version of the software for BES admins to install on end-user devices.

There are many great new features associated with this latest release of Google Maps for BlackBerry devices.  The feature that I am most excited about is the voice search feature.  This will be a very handy feature for those people that like to use the Google Maps while driving in their car.  No longer will they have to take their eyes off the road to type in a location on their BlackBerry device.  These users will now just be able to speak into their mobile phone and see all of the locations that they are looking for appear without having to divert their attention from the road.  This will dramatically increase the safety issues when using Google Maps while driving your vehicle.

Recently Google introduced a new version of its Google Mobile search application for the BlackBerry Storm and Storm 2.  The application includes Google Voice Search, which allows users to use spoken search queries, search suggestions and search history.  The new application will also link Gmail to Google Maps for faster access.  The application is a free download from Google and certainly a must have for any power searchers who own a BlackBerry Storm or Storm 2.

This new app contains all of the useful features of the Google Mobile App but is specifically tailored for the BlackBerry touchscreen devices.  One of the best features of this new app is the ability to search using your voice.  This will certainly cut down on a lot of time needed to press all of the letters to make sure you are searching for the exact terms you wish.  This voice search capability is available in a wide variety of languages including English, Mandarin, Chinese and Japanese.
You can also use this new search feature to search through your emails and contacts.  If you are like me and never delete an email for whatever reason then this feature can truly be invaluable.  Having the ability to locate an old email message by sender, recipient, or part of the message itself will undoubtedly save you hours and hours of scrolling time on your BlackBerry device.  There is nothing worse than not being able to quickly locate an important email and having to scroll through hundreds of old messages to find the one that you actually want.
This new Google Search app will certainly enhance the user experience for any BlackBerry Storm or Storm 2 user.  Actually it is about time that Google finally updated their search feature to be more user friendly for these devices.

In an earlier press release Motorola announced it’s partnership with Microsoft to use Bing’s search and maps as the default search options on all of it’s Motorola mobile devices in China.  I am sure you have recently heard about Google’s threatened pullout of China which probably helped push this current partnership between Motorola and Microsoft.  The new Bing search and map settings will become the default search setting on Motorola’s Chinese Android phones starting in Q1.  With this announcement Chinese consumers will enjoy a preloaded Bing bookmark on their mobile browser and an enhanced search widget with Bing integration.  Motorola is expanding the capabilities and range of services currently offered to their Chinese customers with the rollout of these new features.  Also, this partnership is described as global so there is a chance that it may actually spread.

This new partnership between Motorola and Microsoft raises a few questions about the current relationship between the two companies that seemed to be so tight with the release of the Droid.  Some people are starting to wonder if this new partnership in China will lead to Motorola developing a new Windows 7 phone series even though they have claimed they are committed to the Android technology.  Only time will tell how Motorola and Google will move forward in their ongoing relationship but this certainly has the chance to throw a few wrinkles in that equation.

Google has had its share of major announcements over the past couple days.  It has been reported that they have only sold 135,000 Nexus One units in the first 74 days that they have been available.  This is in comparison to the 1 million iPhone units, and 1.0 5 million Droid units that were sold within the same amount of time.  This may not concern the folks at Google as these numbers may not exactly show the whole picture.  There were huge advertising campaigns for the Droid, as well as the iPhone, and we all know that Google does not necessarily spend the same amount of money on the same type of advertising.  It is also assumed that their numbers will increase once they actually launch with Verizon wireless and Vodofone.

Google has also been involved over the past several weeks in negotiations pertaining to their presence in China.  They have been involved in negotiations mostly centering on the fact that Google does not want the Chinese government meddling in their users searching.  Google wants to be able to operate without having to experience any censorship.  It seems as though they may be at a crossroads where Google may have to decide whether they want to keep their 36% share of the market.  It will come down to whether or not they want to pursue their position on freedom of use of the Internet.

The other big news in Google world is that Facebook has surpassed them as one of the most visited sites on the entire Internet.  This may not concern the gurus at Google, as the last company that was able to do this was MySpace and look at where they are now.  However, some of these things may be something for Google to consider in order to maintain their number one position.

PayPal is planning on opening in applications for later this year.  This will give a place for developers that can sell some of their latest applications for cell phone users.  PayPal does not want to get into the developing business, but they want to provide a platform that developers can present some of their applications to users as well as merchants.  This is something similar to what eBay did last year when they offered a variety of merchant tools in its selling manager suite and opening up to external developers and their applications.  This could be great news for Nexus One unlocked mobile phone users.

PayPal launched its payments platform last year, which enabled developers to use their variety of payment tools.  PayPal seem to be satisfied with how they were able to have developer’s link into their payment processes through external sites that are now looking to include those on their internal sites.  This all came out during a recent developers conference in Florida.  During the presentation PayPal officials showed how by simply using a button purchases could be made, quite simply.

By allowing the developers to include the PayPal payment process inside the application will streamline the process as opposed to now when you have to exit a particular application and then enter the PayPal site to complete your transaction.  There seems be a huge rush from many other folks such as Google and Amazon.com to be able to offer some of the similar online applications for payments.  They will be doing some testing of this through their mobile payments library, which will enable developers to use the PayPal application integrated into their software.  This will initially be for iPhone apps, but they are hoping to quickly expand to other smart phones.