Intel Join Android in the Smartphone Race

The world's biggest chipmaker in the computer and server market has finally joined the smartphone race!

That’s right, Intel, who has so far played second fiddle to Cambridge-based designer ARM Holdings in the market for low power consumption chips, has teamed up with Android, the world's leading operating system for smartphones.

Google have been pushing their Android operating system, tying up with manufacturers, and with the ever increasing demand for mobile phone and tablet computers it will be interesting to see what comes of this new collaboration. 

The Oak Trail processor range is Intel’s answer to ARM's designs, but has only just seen the light of day.  The hope is that the new partnership will help Intel increase its foothold in the Android market.

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Google to Buy Motorola Mobility Subject to Shareholders

Google is taking a high-stakes gamble in the global smartphone war by making a move to buy Motorola Mobility.  The internet giant’s have announced a deal worth $12.5bn (£7.7bn).

A joint statement said the boards of both companies had unanimously approved the deal, which should be completed by the end of this year, or early in 2012.

Earlier this year, Motorola split into two separate companies.  The Mobility side of the business is responsible for developing and manufacturing mobile phones, whilst Motorola Solutions covers wider technologies for corporate customers and governments.

Shares in Motorola Mobility jumped 56% by the close of trading in New York on Monday, to $38.13, still below the offer price of $40 per share. Shares in Google fell 1.8%.  Interestingly, shares in Nokia have risen as well, reinforcing speculation that they too are a bidding target, with Microsoft the potential bidder.

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New 'Open Source' Operating System for Mobile Devices

Google created Android, Microsoft created Window’s Phone, now the creators of Firefox are venturing into developing an operating system for mobile devices.

The web browser developers will draw upon a lot of the system developed by Google, but will write much of the code afresh.  It will provide an obvious competitor to Android in particular because it will run on the same devices. 

The project is very much in its “infancy” according to the team overseen by Mozilla (the creators of Firefox).  However, they have already created some basic software from building blocks that are similar to those needed to get the OS running.

They are now publicising the project to root out experts in the Mozilla community and elsewhere who could help and encouraged them to get in touch and sign on.  They are big believers in Open Source and want to work in "the way we think open source should be done".

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PayPal to Sue Google over NFC

Google is facing a law suit courtesy of PayPal who claim that the internet search giant stole the technology for turning smartphones into digital wallets.

The argument resolves around a former employee, Osama Beider who PayPal alleges he obtained trade secrets before becoming Google’s vice president of payments in January 2011.

Google have yet to see a copy of the complaint and have therefore declined to comment until a later date.  The technology called Near Field Communications is widely used in Japan, it has recently gone live in the UK, and is set for launch in the US in this summer.

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Is Google's Android Leading the March?

Google's Android operating system is growing up at speed, and one indication of this is that it's becoming the leading mobile platform for innovation. There are a host of companies using Android to try out all sorts of new ideas.

One of which is a new phone from Motorola, called the Atrix.  It’s a good looking touchscreen handset that boasts the same features as the majority of top-end Android handsets such as, dual-core processor, front and rear-facing cameras, and loads of social media integration.

What sets it apart according to Motorola is a range of accessories that they believe transforms the phone into the only computer you will ever need when you are on the road. 

The Atrix laptop dock looks much like an ordinary laptop computer - except it turns out to be just a dumb screen and keyboard with the ‘brain’ being the phone, that slots in at the back. It’s not cheap and weight may prove an issue, but this could be the ideal travel partner for the high-flying executive.

Another piece of Android innovation is from HTC, the company which has probably done more than any to make Google's mobile operating system a success.  Their new tablet, the HTC Flyer, doesn’t set the mind ablaze with excitement on first glance, but it does offer a new level of interaction in the form of a pen.  

With this tablet, the pen may work where others have failed because when you launch the tablets rather nifty notes app, you can call up a touchscreen keyboard or you can tap on the icon at the corner of the screen, choose a brush or pen, and start painting or writing.  This is of use, for the simplest reason that typing on a 7” inch screen is hard to type on, and may become redundant on a bigger screen. 

The Android’s growing popularity and race for innovation, should kick start a response from Apple, who only upgrade products once a year and they should be worried.  

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Microsoft and Nokia Join Forces

Following earlier concerns this week that Nokia were in trouble following a leaked memo from Stephen Elop, Chief Executive of the mobile company, Nokia staff are now facing a new challenge.

Nokia has joined forces with Microsoft in an attempt to regain lost ground on market leaders iPhone and other Android-operated devices.  The deal means that Nokia’s existing operating systems will be replaced with the Windows Phone 7 operating system for its smartphones, the company has said.

Windows Phone 7, whilst receiving much critical acclaim, has remained quite a small market player to date.  It has been rumored that Mr. Elop opted to use Windows over the Google Android Operating System because he feels more comfortable with the company as that is where he worked before his move to Nokia. 

The move does mean that Nokia employees across the world will be facing inevitable job losses.  As with all coalitions, the future is unknown, but this collaboration has the potential to shape the future of the industry.  

Discounts on your Mobile Thanks to Facebook

Businesses are now able to utilise the dedicated Facebook app, ‘places’ to provide a virtual coupon facility to customers.

Customers that use the application on their iPhone’s or handset’s that run the Google's Android system can update their whereabouts whenever they visit a variety of shops, restaurants and other venues.  The process is called a “check-in”.

Now users who visit participating shops can log in from their mobile phones to receive rewards from their favourite high street businesses such as Starbucks and Debenhams who are already onboard.

With deals, users will not just be able to tell other people their location, but can also take advantage of any special offers that the retailer has.  In addition, participating retailers will be able to use Facebook to offer "golden ticket" rewards or give bonuses to users who bring other friends along with them.

The service is intended to capitalise on Facebook's popularity, particularly on phones. The service is free to retailers and shoppers alike, and Facebook will not take a slice of any income generated by the deals.

Google Android Driving Spacecraft with Mobile Phone

In recent years we have seen mobiles used at higher and higher altitudes, but until now, they have never gone into space several hundred kilometres above the planet, but that is exactly what the team at Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL) in Guildford want to do.

Their plan is to see if the sophisticated capabilities in today's phones will function in the most challenging environment known to man.  Although we do not yet which handset model will be sent into orbit, we do know that the phone will run on Google's Android operating system.  The hope is that the equipment will be used to control a 30cm-long satellite and take pictures of the Earth during the mission later this year.

Messages and pictures will come back via the satellite's radio link, so the phone won’t be “calling home” in the normal sense.  For the first part of the mission, the mobile will simply act as the back-up to the main computer on the spacecraft.  However, at some point, the phone will actually be put in charge of the craft.

The venture is part of the company's quest to find more inexpensive, off-the-shelf electronics that can be used to lower the cost of its spacecraft designs.

Tablets go to war in Las Vegas

Between the Thursday and Sunday last week, innovators and industry leaders took to the battle at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, and it was the tablets that were making the headlines.

It has been estimated there were over 100 tablet computers on display at the annual gadget show.  Google boasted a number of devices powered by their Android operating system at the show, one of which has caused quite a stir.

Apple has sold 7.5m iPad’s since its release, marking Apple, quite clearly, as the one to beat.  However, Motorola's XOOM has been hailed by a number of bloggers and reviewers as a possible iPad killer, even though the Android 3.0 software which it will run on is not finalized yet. 

Motorola was only able to show a prototype of XOOM, with a final version ready to ship in the US in the next couple of months. There is no official advice as to when it will be available for sale in Europe at this stage or more importantly, the price of the device.

In order to wet your whistle though, it has a 10.1 capacitive screen with the ability to show full HD video playback. It will also feature the expected features like accelerometer, gyroscope and Adobe Flash and there will be a rear and a front facing camera for making video calls.

Of course it wouldn’t be much of a battle unless, in response to the gauntlet being laid, there was speculation from the other team about a soon to be released upgrade or better still the mouth watering prospect of a release from HP that will really throw the cat among the pigeons.  In other words, watch this space; the battle of the tablets is just heating up.