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I’m counting them out anyway... Don’t count out the iPad competitorsAccording to Adam Ostrow at CNN, we should not be counting out the iPad competitors.  On some level, I agree.  It’s good to have competitors, otherwise things would get boring.  However, let’s put things into a little perspective, shall we? To quote Adam: Fast forward to today and Android smartphones are outselling iPhones, thanks to the multitude of manufacturers now offering devices at a variety of price points — all the way down to free. If Android outsells, it’s only because it does many BOGO promotions (buy one, get one),...

The Department of the Interior will purchase a small number of the tablets in an effort to enhance worker productivity. The Department of Interior plans to purchase and distribute Apple iPads to see how the devices can improve worker productivity. More Government Insights The move is part of a larger acquisition of Apple hardware products the department plans to make and mirrors similar moves by businesses to experiment with giving employees iPads and similar tablet devices to see how it affects job performance. Interior is seeking to acquire the tablet devices, which will be "used in personal productivity and visual...

As the end draws near for AT&T’s exclusive hold on the coveted iPhone from Apple, uSamp today released a nationwide survey of AT&T and Verizon customers to gauge their plans for the February 10 launch of Verizon’s iPhone. uSamp’s iPhone survey was conducted online among 727 U.S. residents between Jan. 28 and Jan. 31, 2011 using the uSamp/DMS River Sample methodology and resulting in a 3.6 percent margin of error. Drawing from its highly profiled online panel from Jan. 28 to Jan. 31 to query AT&T customers -- as well as current Verizon users of Android and BlackBerry phones --...

Wireless carrier accused of inflating data transfers, billing for 'phantom' downloadsComputerworld - AT&T has "systematically" overcharged iPhone and iPad owners with capped data plans by inflating the amount of data they download and adding "phantom traffic," a lawsuit claimed last week. AT&T said it would "vigorously" fight the suit. The complaint, filed by Patrick Hendricks in federal court in California, claims that a "significant portion" of AT&T's $1.1 billion of wireless revenue gains in the last quarter came from the bogus charges and overbilling. Hendricks' lawyers asked a judge to grant the lawsuit class-action status; if that happens, the case...

Hot on the heels of Samsung admitting that it had exaggerated sales of its Android tablet to consumers, it is becoming clear that Google's Android platform definition is being stretched to include Chinese rivals, including China Mobile's Ophone and Tapas OS, a project run by the former president of Google China. A report by Canalys yesterday claimed that Google Android platform had taken the top spot in global smartphone platforms worldwide, edging in front of Nokia and making up about a third of all smartphones globally. That fourth quarter figure, collective of all manufacturers using Android in some fashion, is...

An app distributed by Google's Android Market has collected private data from millions of users and forwarded it to servers China, validating Apple's uniquely strong stance on mobile security in the iPhone App Store. The exploit, tied to an app that appeared to simply load free custom background wallpapers, was downloaded "anywhere from 1.1 million to 4.6 million times. The exact number isn’t known because the Android Market doesn’t offer precise data," according to a report by Dean Takahashi of VentureBeat. The app "collects a user’s browsing history, text messages, your phone’s SIM card number, subscriber identification, and even your...

With just 4.2 percent of the global mobile phone market, Apple's iPhone accounts for a massive 51 percent of the total profits, a new report claims. Apple continues to dominate the market when profit is measured, according to a new report from Asymco's Horace Dediu. The iPhone maker managed to add one percent to last quarter's 50 percent share of profits from the top eight mobile phone vendors in the December quarter, the report noted. After data for the fourth quarter of 2010 was released last week, Apple placed fifth overall among global cell phone makers with 4 percent market...

The iPad is killing Microsoft (MSFT), at least if you believe the meme that has been spreading in the stock market. After Microsoft reported its second-quarter earnings last Thursday, the stock fell 4% despite stronger-than-expected financials and several analysts raising their price targets on the stock. But investors were taken in by the idea that Microsoft's future earnings are so much roadkill in the iPad Era. Microsoft's quarterly revenue came in at $19.95 billion, above the $19.14 billion estimated by analysts, and its earnings of 77 cents a share beat the analysts' expectations of 68 cents per share. Revenue was...

According to the latest research from Strategy Analytics, global tablet shipments reached 10 million units in the fourth quarter of 2010. Apple maintained first position, while Android soared and captured a record 22 percent global share. Peter King, Director at Strategy Analytics, said, 'Global tablet shipments grew 120 percent sequentially to reach 9.7 million units in Q4 2010. Apple maintained first position. Apple recorded an impressive 75 percent global marketshare during the fourth quarter, but it has slipped from a peak of 95 percent in Q3 2010 due to rising competition from Android.'" Neil Mawston, Director at Strategy Analytics, added,...

Despite crowing about shipping 2 million Galaxy Tabs, Samsung is now admitting that it's not selling very many of the seven-inch tablets. On the earnings call with analysts, Samsung VP Lee Young-hee said sales were "quite small." The Wall Street Journal has a transcript. Lee talks about sell-in, meaning shipments and sell-out, meaning sales to consumers. Lee doesn't quantify what "quite small" means, but it sure doesn't sound good. Here's the snippet: “Well, your question was on sell-in and sell-out. As you heard, our sell-in was quite aggressive and this first quarterly result was quite, you know, fourth-quarter unit [figure]...

"The global chairman and CEO of home networking giant Netgear has launched into a scathing attack on Apple and its founder Steve Jobs, criticising Jobs's 'ego' and Apple's closed up products," Asher Moses reports for The Sydney Morning Herald. "At a lunch in Sydney today, Patrick Lo said Apple's success was centred on closed and proprietary products that would soon be overtaken by open platforms like Google's Android." MacDailyNews Take: Patrick Lo is dead wrong. Here's why from someone who predicted the iPhone over 4 years before Steve Jobs unveiled it. What was the Patrick Lo doing in 2002? Making...

Android continues to take market share in smart phones, according to research firms presenting year-end tabulations this week. Getting a clear snapshot on Android is somewhat complicated in that the platform is spread across multiple vendors, including HTC, Motorola Mobility(MMI) and Samsung. The market for smart phone operating systems currently is dominated by Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone platform, Nokia’s (NOK) Symbian and Research In Motion’s (RIMM) BlackBerry OS. Collectively, though, the Google (GOOG) -backed Android operating system continues to move up the charts.

Palo Alto, Singapore and Reading (UK) - Canalys today announced strong PC industry growth of 19% in Q4 2010, with Apple climbing to third place in the market, thanks to impressive iPad and Mac sales, as well as fast growth in Asia Pacific. The analyst company attributes the majority of Q4 market growth to the rising demand for pads, a new product category. ‘Pads gave consumers increased product choice over the holiday season,’ said Canalys Analyst Tim Coulling. ‘While they do not appeal to first-time buyers or low-income households, they are proving extremely popular as additional computing devices.’ Canalys urges...

THE MAKER OF SHINY TOYS, Apple is starting to see sales of its Macintosh computers stunted by the Ipad. Market analysts Asymco produced not only evidence that Ipad sales grew massively in the fourth quarter of 2010 but also that a worrying trend is emerging for Apple, in that the sales growth of its Mac computers is falling. Even though its figures suggest otherwise, Asymco claimed that Ipads are in fact not cannibalising Mac sales. Further data presented by Asymco show that Apple is flogging fewer Ipods, with users opting for Iphones instead. That isn't particularly surprising as industry pundits...

Earlier this month, technology enthusiasts around the world awaited Microsoft's opening keynote address for the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), with the anticipation that CEO Steve Ballmer would talk up a new generation of Windows-based tablets that would take on Apple's surging iPad. Instead, Ballmer ignored some of Microsoft's key consumer brands, and he didn't use the word "tablet" until his closing remarks. Disappointing, sure. But a year after Ballmer and company promised a strong response to the iPad and explicitly noted it would do to the tablet market what it previously did with netbooks—come from behind for the win—Microsoft's...

The iPad continued to surge into the enterprise as Q4 activations jumped more than 50%, while Windows Mobile devices dropped out of Top 10, says Good Technology report.The good news for Google: CIOs seem to be very fond of Android devices, which accounted for 30% of net new devices deployed by enterprise users in the fourth quarter of 2010. The bad news for Google: CIOs are infatuated with Apple's iPad and iPhone, which rushed into big corporations at more than twice the rate of Android devices as iOS units accounted for 65% of Q4 enterprise activations. Those figures come from...

A UK toy company is hoping to turn the iPhone and iPod touch into a blaster gun, bringing the Apple tech to a whole new generation. In what is likely to appeal to kids of all ages, there will be three toys to kick off what the company is calling “Apptoyz” - a new range of accessories with apps to control them. The first will be the app gun, which takes your Apple device and puts it into a blaster for you to fend off invading aliens. The accompanying free application will be an Augmented Reality app that sees you...

Verizon has begun sending out information to corporate customers with more details about their iPhone launch. Verizon is offering existing customers a chance to buy the Verizon iPhone on February 3rd, a week before the general public. According to the email we've received, Verizon will begin pre-order sales at 3am Eastern on February 3rd. - Make sure you have your My Verizon self-serve account set-up online. Orders can only be placed through your my Verizon account. You can register/setup your account at... myaccount.verizonwireless.com - On February 3rd at 3am EST, Verizon Wireless will allow our current customers to order upgrades...

NEW YORK — Verizon Wireless will start offering the iPhone on Feb. 10 with a draw that AT&T Inc. no longer offers to new subscribers: a plan with unlimited data usage. But The Associated Press has learned that some AT&T iPhone users on limited plans won't need to move to Verizon for all-you-can-eat data. In an unadvertised loophole, AT&T has allowed subscribers who have had an unlimited data plan in the past to switch back. That includes anyone who had an iPhone before June, when the limited plans took effect. Jose Argumedo, of Brentwood, N.Y., says he and a friend...

An iPhone app that tracks down the Taliban has been developed by a US soldier who put $26,000 of his own money into the project. The idea for a smartphone application to assist soldiers in combat came to Captain Jonathan J. Springer in a dream last July. The 31-year-old, from Fort Wayne, Indiana, has worked with programmers ever since to make the idea a reality. Tactical Nav, which is expected to be available through Apple’s App Store next month, assists soldiers in mapping, plotting and photographing waypoints on a battleground and conveying coordinates to supporting units.