Inside these posts: Google Android

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Google’s Android now No. 1 smartphone platform

Google’s Android dethroned Nokia’s Symbian as the most popular smartphone platform in the last quarter of 2010, ending a reign that began with the birth of the industry 10 years ago.

Research firm Canalys said on Monday phonemakers sold 32.9 million Android-equipped phones in the last quarter, roughly seven times more than a year ago, compared with Symbian’s sales of 31 million.

The phones are produced by manufacturers that include Libertyville-based Motorola Mobility, Samsung and HTC. Get the full story »

Android tablets closing gap with iPad in 4Q

Bloomberg News | According to Strategy Analytics, Google Android tablet computers made headway against the Apple iPad in the fourth quarter. The Boston-based research firm said Android tablets accounted for 22 percent of global shipments, up from 2.3 percent in the third quarter; iPad shipments were 75 percent, down from 96 percent.

Virus attacks Android phones in China

A powerful virus targeting smart phones in China running Google Inc’s Android operating system may represent the most sophisticated bug to target mobile devices to date, security researchers said on Thursday. Get the full story »

Microsoft sues Motorola over smart phone patents

Microsoft Corp. said Friday it has sued Motorola Inc., claiming that the Schaumburg-based company has violated nine of its patents with smartphones running Google’s Android operating system.

Microsoft, which is headquartered in Redmond, Wash., filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington on Friday. The company said it also filed a complaint with the International Trade Commission. Get the full story »

Motorola unveils the Droid 2

Motorola unveiled Tuesday its follow-up to the Droid smartphone it released last year, introducing a new handset with a redesigned keyboard and other improvements.

The Droid 2 will be available for online pre-sales on Wednesday and in-store sales at Verizon Wireless on Thursday. It will cost $199.99 after a mail-in rebate and requires a two-year contract and a smartphone data plan.

The original Droid was released in November at Verizon Wireless to generally positive reviews, although some users had gripes with the keyboard. Motorola said the new Droid 2 has a new keyboard “with raised keys for more responsive typing,” and also features increased processing power and the ability to be a mobile hotspot for up to five WiFi-enabled devices. The hotspot feature costs an extra $20 per month. Get the full story »

Software released for attacking Android phones

Two security experts said on Friday they released a tool for attacking smartphones that use Google Inc’s Android operating system to persuade manufacturers to fix a bug that lets hackers read a victim’s email and text messages.

“It wasn’t difficult to build,” said Nicholas Percoco, head of Spider Labs, who along with a colleague, released the tool at the Defcon hacker’s conference in Las Vegas on Friday.

Percoco said it took about two weeks to build the malicious software that could allow criminals to steal precious information from Android smartphones. Get the full story »

Samsung smartphone coming to all major carriers

In the shadow of the latest blockbuster Apple Inc.   iPhone launch, Samsung Electronics Co.  has quietly positioned its own marquee smartphone with all of the national carriers in an attempt to regain its position with high-end cellphones.

Verizon Wireless, Sprint Nextel Corp.  and T-Mobile USA said  Monday that they would be carrying a version of Samsung’s Galaxy S.  AT&T Inc.  previously said it would sell a version of the device  later this year. Of all the carriers, only T-Mobile would commit to a firm launch date of July 21. Get the full story »