Like Android, Tizen is an open-source software platform that is already in use in tablets, vehicle infotainment systems, and smart TVs, though it hasn’t nearly reached the market share of Android or iOS. Tizen competes with other small-scale open-source platforms, including Sailfish and the recently announced Ubuntu for smartphones.
via Samsung drifts away from Android; will Motorola rise to replace it? | Ars Technica.
CyanogenMod is an aftermarket firmware for a number of cell phones based on the open-source Android operating system. It offers features not found in the official Android based firmwares of vendors of these cell phones.
via CyanogenMod | Android Community Rom based on Jelly Bean.
This secrecy allowed the organisers to cherry pick participants to tilt the discussion in favour of software patents in Europe which shouldn’t even exist, of course, according to the European Patent Convention, FRAND supporters and proprietary software companies, even though the latter are overwhelmingly American so much for loyalty to the European ideal. The plan was clearly to produce the desired result that open source was perfectly compatible with FRAND, because enough people at this conference said so.
via European Commission’s Low Attack on Open Source – Open Enterprise.
Also worth noting in the above statement from the report is the claim that “the distinction between software and hardware is increasingly artificial”. I think if we decode this, what it means is that in the old world of hardware – for example, in telecommunications or codecs – FRAND standards were common, and that’s perfectly true. But in the world of software, the key modern forums for standards such as W3C or OASIS require RF, not FRAND. So this is a crude attempt to force old-fashioned hardware approaches on modern software, because once again the convenient result is that open source is excluded.
The rapid growth of the Chinese smartphone market means that it is set to top the U.S. iOS and Android install base next year. According to a research report by Flurry released last month, China currently has 167 million iOS or Android devices, compared to 181 million in the U.S.
Unlike Apple, Google doesn’t impose a Draconian policy on developers. Third-party rendering and JavaScript engines get the green light on any Android-based device, jailbroken or not. This means that Firefox is free to use its Gecko rendering engine, and Opera isn’t limited to a “mini” browser.
via Which Web Browser Should You Run On Your Android Device? : Web Browser Grand Prix: Android Circuit.
The domain name mobi is a top-level domain (TLD) in the Domain Name System of the Internet. Its name is derived from the adjective mobile, indicating it’s used by mobile devices for accessing Internet resources via the Mobile Web.
The domain was approved by ICANN on 11 July 2005, and is managed by the mTLD global registry. It was originally financially backed and sponsored by Google, Microsoft, Nokia, Samsung, Ericsson, Vodafone, T-Mobile, Telefónica Móviles, Telecom Italia Mobile, Orascom Telecom, GSM Association, Hutchison Whampoa, Syniverse Technologies, and Visa, with an executive from each company serving on mTLD’s board of directors.[1][2][3]
In February 2010, Afilias acquired mTLD Top-Level Domain Ltd. (known publicly as “dotMobi”).[4]
Firefox OS is a new mobile operating system developed by Mozilla’s Boot to Gecko (B2G) project. It uses a Linux kernel and boots into a Gecko-based runtime engine, which lets users run applications developed entirely using HTML, JavaScript, and other open web application APIs.
But Samsung dominated that field as it does the rest of the market: Apple made up 13.9% of the smartphone market, slightly down in share even though its shipment numbers grew by 36%, giving Samsung 32.6% of the entire smartphone market.
via Feature phones dwindle as Android powers ahead in third quarter | Technology | guardian.co.uk.
It’s no surprise to find multiple network expansion investments, given the rate of mobile growth in the region: According to a new report issued by the GSM Association (GSMA) , sub-Saharan Africa is “the fastest-growing mobile market in the world,” with an average annual growth rate of 44 percent since 2000. The region now has 475 million mobile connections, compared with 12.3 million fixed lines.
via Africa’s Wireless Gold Rush – 4G/LTE – Telecom News Analysis – Light Reading Mobile.
HTC’s share of the global smartphone market by shipments fell to 5.8% in the second quarter from 10.7% a year earlier, according to Bloomberg.
via HTC suffers 79% crash in quarterly profits | Technology | guardian.co.uk.
HTC has seen falling average selling prices for its phones as it has tried to break into the fast-growing Chinese market. Approximately 30% of shipments go to China but price pressures mean they account for only 20% of revenues.