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Firefox OS: Will Mozilla’s Secret Sauce Be Enough?

There's something eternally compelling about the ages-old story of David and Goliath, and it's one we've seen play out time and time again in modern form in the tech world. We've seen Samsung's Galaxy S and Galaxy Tab surge in popularity to challenge Apple's iPhone and iPad, respectively; we've seen...

German Court Ruling Sheds Doubt on Motorola Patents’ Worth

A regional court in Munich has ruled that Google-owned Motorola Mobility infringed an Apple patent related to touchscreen technology. The court placed a preliminary injunction on devices that use the patent-infringing tech, including the Motorola Milestone XT720, the Motorola Defy, the Motorola Atri...

Why China Stuck Its Foot in Android’s Door

China's antitrust authorities have approved Google's purchase of Motorola Mobility, on the condition that the Android operating system remain open source and its code be made freely available to original equipment manufacturers. Android devices had nearly 74 percent of the Chinese market in Q4, 2011...

BT Goes for Android’s Jugular With Patent Claims

British Telecom has filed a lawsuit against Google, claiming the Android operating system infringes of six of its patents. The suit attacks Google on a number of fronts, including Google Maps, Google+ and Google Music. While the technology in question has been used by Google for years, it may have t...

Nexus Hits the Mainstream

Ever since the Galaxy Nexus, the Samsung-built Android phone that will usher in Ice Cream Sandwich, was announced in Hong Kong in October, the device has been making the headlines. On Thursday alone, there were stories about its launch in Canada, Verizon Wireless' excluding Google Wallet from the de...

Microsoft Adds a Notch to Its Gun Belt With Quanta Licensing Deal

Quanta Computer has agreed to pay Microsoft a license fee for devices that run Google Android or Chrome. It is the latest deal in a series that Microsoft has inked with manufacturers using Android, and more lately, Chrome, in their products. Other notable wins for Microsoft have been Samsung and HTC...

MeeGo Loses Its Last Friend as Intel Turns to Tizen

Months after losing support from handset maker Nokia, the MeeGo mobile OS lost another major backer when Intel announced Wednesday it wouldn't continue with the Linux-based operating system. Instead, Intel will partner with Samsung to develop Tizen, a new open source Linux build. Intel launched MeeG...

Google and Moto: The Best- and Worst-Case Scenarios

Google's recent plan to buy Motorola Mobility has the potential for reshaping the entire Android landscape. If it wins regulatory approval for the purchase, Google may only have a short time span to connect its marketing strategy. When and if this happens, it could further fracture the open source A...

Will Google Build an Uber Android?

The initial response to Google's surprise announcement on Monday that it had inked a deal to acquire Motorola Mobility for US$12.5 billion was that it was a move largely to protect itself from the increasing patent attacks against Android. That could be why all five major manufacturers of Android de...

The Future of Android, Part 1: The Legal Squeeze

To say Android's popular among consumers is like saying Godzilla's a lizard. It's a question of degree. More than 500,000 new Android devices were being activated daily, and the number was growing at 4.4 percent week over week, Google's Andy Rubin tweeted in late June. comScore's figures show that f...

Google Sweetens the Android Pot With Honeycomb 3.2 SDK

Google Friday announced Android 3.2 and released updated software development kit tools for the platform. Android 3.2 is an incremental release that adds several new capabilities for both users and developers, the Internet giant said. It includes changes to the application programming interface and ...

Microsoft Puts the Squeeze on Samsung

Microsoft has reportedly trained its Android patent guns on Samsung Electronics, demanding $15 for every Android-based handset the Korean manufacturer produces. If true, this could be the highest fee demanded by Redmond for its Android patents so far. Microsoft is reportedly getting royalties of $5 ...

Defense Contractor Heeds Microsoft’s Patent War Cry

Microsoft scored a victory Monday when defense contractor General Dynamics' Itronix division agreed to pay it licensing fees for using the Android operating system. Itronix makes rugged mobile computers for military, law enforcement, first responder and field service use. Microsoft's assertions of p...

Are Android Tablets Stumbling Out of the Gate?

Based on initial sales reports and some tablet market flip flops, the few Android tablets that have hit the shelves so far seem to have crashed and burned. Early sales figures indicate that no Android tab is coming close to being the much-awaited Apple iPad alternative. But will time heal all? Does ...

What Does Google Owe FOSS?

Mobile device developers are in a holding pattern with plans to plug in the much-awaited Google Android 3.0 upgrade. The delay is causing some bad feelings in the FOSS community. But it is unlikely that Google will carry many scars from the dispute. Claiming it needs more time to solve technical gli...

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