Update: Instagram for Android has stolen today’s thunder when it comes to all things tech. If you’re an Android, check it out here and get your retro on.
Not a whole lot happening this morning when it comes to tech headlines. A few did catch my attention. Here’s the quick and dirty lowdown.
Samsung delays Galaxy Tab 2 tablet
Both the 7.0 and 10.1-inch models for Samsung’s upcoming Galaxy Tab 2 have been pushed back to end of April. According to the company, the launch will happen first in the UK, followed by a global rollout. No reason was given for the delay. Some speculate that the inclusion of Google’s latest OS “Ice Cream Sandwich” (Android 4.0) requires extra testing by both manufacturers and carriers, resulting in delays.
New Nokia 900 ads take jabs at Apple iPhone with help of SNL
“Shouldn’t I be able to hold it however I want?”
“Stop acting like a spoiled child and use the approved grip.”
Unfettered by its controversial smartphone challenge — which saw Androids outperforming its smartphone — Nokia is now enlisting some SNL help in some good old fashioned iPhone bashing. The effort to promote the new Lumia 900 smartphone features the site SmartPhoneBetaTest.com and Chris Parnell as a “restless security official sitting in a generic office building…[who] alternately squeezes a hand exerciser, plays with perpetual motion balls, and generally looks bored.” The first attack point? You guessed it: the iPhone’s reception.
So far, Apple gets the last laugh. Latest mobile share: Google Android 48.6%, Apple iPhone 29.5%, Windows Phone 4.4%.
Nokia 900 goes on sale April 8 for $100 with a two-year AT&T contract.
Apple and Microsoft accuse Motorola Mobility of unfair patent licensing
The great patent wars of the 21st century marches on.
Now Apple and Microsoft have shifted their attention to Motorola Mobility (Google – though last year’s deal still needs approval from China) who they are accusing of overcharging for licenses related to 2G and 3G standards. The European Commission for the 27-member EU is investigating.
BusinessWeek has a great cover piece (Apple’s War on Android) on patent litigation and how Apple (especially), Microsoft, Google and others are jockeying for patent supremacy. It’s a dry, yet critical, subject given an entertaining and informative spin.