Google chairman Eric Schmidt has stoked the fire of the ongoing Android vs iPhone smartphone rivalry by claiming the battle is almost won.
Speaking to Bloomberg, Schmidt said the dramatic swing towards Android handsets is reminiscent of Microsoft's Windows sweeping aside Apple's computing platform in the early 1990s.
Android's market share rose to a formidable 75 per cent in the third quarter of 2012, compared with the iPhone's 15 per cent, prompting Schmidt to rub a truckload of salt in the wound.
He said: "This is a huge platform change; this is of the scale of 20 years ago - Microsoft versus Apple."
"We're winning that war pretty clearly now," he added, claiming 1.3 million Android devices a day are being activated.
Mmmmm pie
However, while Android is destroying the iPhone in terms of OS market share, Apple rakes in unprecedented profits on hardware sales, while Google simply gives away its operating system.
Schmidt says the openness of Android gives Google the chance to push users towards its other services and cash in further on ad sales.
He added: "The core strategy is to make a bigger pie.
"We will end up with a not perfectly controlled and not perfectly managed bigger pie by virtue of open systems."
Schmidt is obviously feeling super-confident about the future, but perhaps his bravado went a tad too far when he claimed Google+ "is a viable competitor to Facebook."
Companies hoping to secure a portion of the 4G airwaves in next year's spectrum auction have today submitted their bids to Ofcom.
The long-delayed auction, now scheduled for March 2013, will divide up the available spectrum and allow mobile networks to press ahead with plans for UK-wide 4G LTE connectivity.
The UK's biggest mobile operators - O2, Vodafone, EE and Three - may face competition from international rivals, private equity firms and other industries for ownership of the all-important airwaves.
All interested parties were required to submit proposals by 4pm on Tuesday, alongside a hefty deposit of £100,000, which Ofcom requested to fend off time wasters.
Ofcom, which has been heavily criticised for delaying the auction process, played up the bidding process, claiming to have 'fired the starting gun' on the path to a full 4G roll out.
Fired the starting gun
Ofcom said the list of bidders will not be made public for a few weeks, while Ofcom assesses the suitability of each proposal and decides whether the company moves onto the next stage of the process.
The respective companies are bidding for access to two bands. The 800MHz spectrum freed up by the analogue TV switch-off and the 2.6MHz spectrum, which will likely be used in dense urban areas.
The 4GEE network was able to launch this autumn on the 1800MHz band it converted from 2G to 4G.
"We have fired the starting gun on the 4G auction process," said Ofcom CEO Ed Richards.
"In the past year alone, mobile internet usage has doubled. The 4G auction will release crucial capacity to support future growth, helping to boost UK productivity, innovation and drive significant improvements to mobile broadband availability across the UK."
Mastercard has agreed a deal with Transport for London to stop you wasting money on travel.
From today commuters can pay for their bus travel using a PayPass bank card, which will cost considerably less than paying for the same trip with cash.
Buses across the capital are already equipped with the contactless readers for Oyster Card payments, but this move means travellers won't have to have a topped up travelcard prior to boarding the bus.
Given it's going to be an eye-watering £2.40 to pay by cash for any journey in 2013, compared to the £1.40 if using an Oyster PAYG card, the fact PayPass bank cards will mirror the lower charges will be a godsend to those who travel the bus infrequently but like the idea of paying a pound less.
Invisible transactions
The balance is taken straight from their bank account instead of needing to queue in a newsagent to top up an Oyster card first.
And there's also the extra bonus of not being stared at angrily by the bus driver when you try to pay for a jaunt to the shops with a £20. They don't like that, trust us.
Similar schemes are planned nationwide, and the likelihood is that the technology, which is already present in phones, will be added to the roster of bus payment mechanisms in the near future – we're chasing Mastercard for an answer on this at the moment.
The SkyDrive app may not have much of a future on iOS according to a new report detailing Microsoft's refusal to share revenue with Apple.
Microsoft recently introduced the ability to purchase more cloud storage for SkyDrive in-app, and reportedly balked at sharing that revenue with its Cupertino cohort.
The App Store's policy dictates Apple will receive 30 percent of all app sales, as well as 30 percent of all revenue generated by in-app purchases.
Apple would continue to earn 30 percent of the SkyDrive subscription fees even if a consumer no longer used an iOS device, which caused Microsoft to rethink its stance on profit-sharing.
As a result, Apple is now blocking Microsoft's latest update to SkyDrive, despite repeated tries from Microsoft to work out some kind of arrangement.
Third-party problems
Sources familiar with the issue told The Next Web Microsoft has been trying to work out a compromise with Apple, but hasn't had much success.
Microsoft reportedly even said it would remove all subscription options from the app, thus removing the SkyDrive app's ability to generate revenue, but Apple rebuffed the offer.
Since neither party has been able to resolve the issue, an update fixing a bug that crashes SkyDrive on iOS hasn't been pushed to consumers.
Microsoft confirmed in statement to several news outlets, including The Verge, that its latest SkyDrive iOS update is being delayed by Apple, though there was no mention as to what was causing the hold up.
"Similar to the experiences of some other companies, we are experiencing a delay in approval of our updated SkyDrive for iOS," a company spokesperson said.
"We are in contact with Apple regarding the matter and hope to come to a resolution."
Even more disconcerting are the ramifications being felt by developers who have third-party apps that work in conjunction with SkyDrive.
Several of the apps in question require users to sign into SkyDrive, but Apple's review team has denied such access claiming "the log in interface must be native and not a link or a web view."
In other words, since users won't have to log in through Apple, and would instead be able to log in through Microsoft, the apps are being cut off until Microsoft agrees to pay.
The whole story?
Though The Next Web's sources point out this SkyDrive tussle is causing mounting friction between Apple and Microsoft, there may be another twist to the story.
According to AllThingsD, the squeeze is being put on SkyDrive due to Microsoft's desire to renegotiate the 70/30 revenue split with Apple over Office 365 subscriptions.
The sources close to the matter didn't divulge just what kind of split Microsoft was seeking instead, but did say Apple is reticent to change its policies, even for a massive money maker like Office.
Office Mobile for iOS isn't due to arrive until sometime next year, which gives Microsoft some time to continue negotiations with Apple, even if those talks come at the cost of SkyDrive's users.
Apple's policies shouldn't be new information for anyone involved in developing apps for iOS, so it will be interesting to see just how much flexibility will be given to Microsoft as the discussions progress.
TechRadar asked Microsoft and Apple for further comment, and will update this article when and if the companies respond.
O2 customers, dismayed by two high profile service failures in the last few months, will be even less enthused to hear their monthly tariffs are going up.
The network has announced that contracts prices for existing users will be going up by 3.2 per cent as of February next year.
Users on one of the company's £36 a month contracts (with 1GB data, unlimited texts and minutes) will be paying £37.15 on their first bill after February 28.
"We've always done everything possible to give you great value. And keep your bills down," the company said on its website.
"To date, we've held off putting our tariff prices up for as long as possible. Even when our competitors raised theirs. But now, because of inflation, we need to change the price of your tariff."
Small print
Within the O2.co.uk/prices page, the company claimed it was within its rights to raise the prices on existing users under Clause 5 of their service contract.
This piece of small print gives O2 the right to adjust prices, providing it gives customers 30 days notice and means that users don't have grounds to cancel their contracts due to the price hike.
The company is still attempting to repair the damage caused by two lengthy service interruptions in July and October and was forced to hand out a substantial compensation package for the former.
With that in mind, it's an interesting time for a price hike, especially with EE's massive 4G leg up.
The Google Nexus 10 was only announced around a week ago but in many circles it had been anticipated since the announcement of the Google Nexus 7. After all, if Google was entering the tablet field directly then how could it resist the potentially very lucrative 10-inch market?
And here we are, just a few short months after the Nexus 7's launch and Google is taking the fight to Apple, going head to head for tablet supremacy.
It's not going to be an easy fight for Google; the iPad has always been in a league of its own and has a serious head start, but Google isn't entering the fray unprepared.
At £319 for the 16GB model the Google Nexus 10 is £80 cheaper than the equivalent iPad 4. In fact even the 32GB model, with its price tag of £389 comes in at slightly under a 16GB iPad 4 and a whole £90 cheaper than a 32GB one.
Don't think that just because it's relatively cheap it's not a premium, powerhouse device either. With a retina-searing 10.05-inch 2560 x 1600 Super PLS display, it's even higher resolution than the latest iPad, with 300 pixels per inch against the iPad 4's 264ppi.
That makes it the highest resolution tablet in existence. With a display that beautiful it's reassuring to know that it uses Corning Gorilla Glass 2 to keep it in pristine condition.
It's no slouch under the hood either. With a dual-core 1.7GHz Samsung Exynos processor and 2GB of RAM it should have no problem keeping pace with the fastest Android devices. It comes with Android 4.2 out of the box and being a pure Google tablet it will be one of the first devices to get the next version of Android too, keeping it up to date and future proofed for as long as possible.
It's the same tactic used for the Google Nexus 7 - produce top end hardware at the lowest price possible to get people buying. It's even learnt a few lessons from the Nexus 7, as this time is isn't bothering with a cripplingly small 8GB model and making a 32GB version available from day one.
Early sales of the Google Nexus 10 have been extremely promising. Despite the slightly higher price tag compared to other tablets on the market, the Nexus 10 has sold out on Google's Play Store on multiple occasions, with buyers clearly entranced by the super high resolution screen and larger dimensions.
Right now the Google Nexus 10 is Wi-Fi only, but if you want 3G or 4G you might not have to wait too long, as the Nexus 7 has just been made available with 3G, so we expect the Google Nexus 10 will follow suit.
Samsung has started pushing out the Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean update to the Galaxy Note 2.
It's only reached Poland so far, according to the table over at SamMobile, but is rolling out in phases. So keep hitting the update button and hopefully you should see it soon enough.
So what's new? Well there's a host of new features. You get new additions in Notification Toggles, you can customise the Notifications Panel, and the brightness slider in the Notifications Panel can be disabled.
Multi-View can be disabled as well, the browser is smoother than before, and the Status Bar is now black instead of grey. You can type on the keyboard just by dragging your finger across it (like Swype or Android 4.2 Jelly Bean), there's a new ink effect on the lockscreen, as well as a new Group Cast app.
So no world-changing features, admittedly, but they all count.
S3 leads the way
Samsung recently started rolling out the same update to the Galaxy S3 smartphone.
The Galaxy Note 2 is one of Samsung's flagship devices, along with the S3, so it obviously wants to keep both up to date. Neither have Android 4.2 Jelly Bean yet though, as found on the Nexus 4.
This is the second time out the gate for the Sony Xperia Tablet S. It originally launched in September, but was quickly pulled from the shelves thanks to a manufacturing fault. That's unfortunate for Sony, because in the interim the Google Nexus 10, Amazon Kindle Fire HD, iPad 4 and iPad mini have all hit the market.
That gives this refresh of the Sony Tablet S some rather stiff competition. But with a premium build and specs to match, it's certainly still got a chance.
A striking folded book design ensures that the Sony Xperia Tablet S is eye catching, easily standing out from the hordes of identikit Android tablets. On top of that it's got a premium finish that brings to mind the build of an iPad more than most other tablets. The end result is that it looks stylish and expensive.
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That sense of it being a premium device isn't just skin deep either. With a 1.3GHz quad-core Tegra 3 processor it should be pretty powerful too. Though it only has 1GB of RAM, and the 1280 x 800, 9.4-inch display isn't anything to write home about in resolution terms, coming in at just 161 pixels per inch.
That's a little disappointing, given that the similarly positioned Google Nexus 10 has 2GB of RAM and a 2560 x 1600, 300 ppi display.
Running Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich, the Sony Xperia Tablet S isn't as up to date as it could be, but at least it's getting an update to the latest major version of Android.
The Sony Xperia Tablet S comes in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB varieties, with the option of Wi-Fi only or Wi-Fi and 3G (3G version only currently available in the UK, 64GB version not available in Australia).
The price starts at £329/AU$539/US$399.99 for the 16GB Wi-Fi-only version of the tablet, which puts it roughly in line with the equivalent Google Nexus 10 and significantly cheaper than a 16GB iPad 4.
Prices rise to £379/AU$649/US$499.99 for a 32GB model, which is still a bit cheaper than a 16GB iPad 4, or £449/US599.99 for a 64GB version.
If you're in the UK and want the 3G version, it currently only seems to be available in 16GB and will set you back £429 (around AU$656/US$691), which again is about £70 cheaper than the equivalent iPad 4.
Features
With only 1GB of RAM, the Sony Xperia Tablet S doesn't stand up too well to the 2GB of RAM on what's likely to be one of its biggest rivals - the Google Nexus 10. But it's not too much of a problem, since 1GB is still the norm, with both the iPad 4 and the Asus Transformer Pad Infinity sporting 1GB of RAM.
Running Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich, its operating system feels slightly dated too, though again many other tablets are in the same boat.
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Its 1.3GHz quad-core Tegra 3 processor is more competitive at least, since many tablets still rock dual-core processors.
Bluetooth 3.0 and USB 2.0 support are par for the course, but support for SD cards of up to 32GB gives the Sony Xperia Tablet S a selling point over an iPad or Nexus tablet, since neither of those have any expandable storage.
Interestingly it takes SD cards rather than micro SD cards. We're not sure why that is, particularly since it still only supports cards of up to 32GB, but it's worth noting.
The Sony Xperia Tablet S is powered by a 6,000mAh battery, which doesn't sound like much - the Google Nexus 10 rocks a 9,000mAh battery and the iPad 4 comes with an enormous 11,666mAh battery. Despite the relatively small size, Sony reckons that it should last a pretty reasonable 12 hours with 'standard usage'.
The Sony Xperia Tablet S is undoubtedly a premium device. With a shiny aluminium body and an iconic fold at the top, it really is a looker.
Viewed front-on it doesn't do quite as much to stand out, because it's basically just a black rectangle. But the start of the curve is still just visible at the top, making it at least a little different from the norm, while the slightly rounded corners ensure it doesn't look unattractive.
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The front is also totally devoid of buttons, a sight that has started to become commonplace on Android tablets but was definitely the right way to go.
The only things you will find on the front are a black bezel around the edge of the screen, giving you somewhere to put your fingers without obscuring anything, along with a small 'Sony' logo at the top-left and a camera lens in the centre of the top edge, capable of taking 1 megapixel photos and shooting videos in 720p.
The 9.4-inch LCD screen is only 1280 x 800, giving it a relatively low pixel density of 161 PPI. It's certainly not the best screen you'll ever come across.
Numbers aside, the resolution is noticeably worse than even the Google Nexus 7, let alone the iPad 4 or Google Nexus 10, while its brightness and contrast isn't desperately impressive either.
It does at least provide good viewing angles, staying visible from pretty much any position. While the screen never gets all that bright, there is also a useful auto-brightness option, which will dim or brighten the screen automatically based on how bright your surroundings are.
The back sports that stylish black fold at the top while the rest of it is shiny aluminium.
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The main 8 megapixel, 1080p camera can be found in the centre of the fold, otherwise the only real feature is a pair of small speakers running along the bottom left and bottom right of the back.
The bottom edge of the Sony Xperia Tablet S houses a 'multi-port' that the charger and included USB cable connect to.
There isn't a dedicated HDMI port, but you can purchase an adaptor that enables you to connect the multi-port via HDMI. There's a removable cover for the port, and while the cover is on, the Sony Xperia Tablet S is supposedly splash proof, though of course you'd still do well to keep it away from any significant amount of liquid.
The right edge holds the tablet's only two buttons - a power button at the top (which is also used to sleep and wake the tablet) and a volume rocker just below it. They stick out enough to be easy to press but the curved sides mean that they aren't prominent enough to spoil the lines.
The left edge has a 3.5mm headphone port at the top and a covered SD card slot slightly further down.
The top edge curves off into the fold on the back, with no ports or buttons to spoil it.
The tablet generally feels good in the hand. Weighing 570g, it's slightly lighter than some of its rivals (the Google Nexus 10 is 603g while the iPad 4 weighs 652g) and the difference is noticeable.
It makes it light enough to hold comfortably for longer, while still being weighty enough to not feel cheap.
The folded edge on the back does make it ever so slightly top-heavy and unbalanced when held in landscape mode, and as such it's advisable to hold it with the fold at the bottom - even though that appears to be upside-down.
On the other hand, the fold has a mottled feel to it that both makes it pleasant to hold and leaves it feeling secure in your hand.
Along with the curved edges and relatively light weight of the tablet, this makes it a great device to use for long periods without a stand. Whether you're watching movies, playing games or web browsing, it provides a pleasant, comfortable experience.
With dimensions of 239.8 x 174.4 x 8.8mm (9.44 x 6.87 x 0.35 inches) the Sony Xperia Tablet S is not the sleekest tablet you'll ever see, though folded back aside it is quite slim and definitely doesn't look or feel overly large.
It certainly ticks a lot of boxes, with a premium build, expandable storage (along with up to 64GB onboard), a fast processor and a 3G version available.
On the other hand, the screen is a bit of a disappointment and Android 4.0.3 Ice Cream Sandwich is two iterations behind, but for the £329/AU$539/US$399.99 price tag it has still got a lot going for it.
RIM's upcoming, fully touchscreen BlackBerry 10 handset looks like it's been snapped again, and this time the photos are actually pretty good.
We've seen previouslyleakedpictures claiming to show the L-Series handset, but quality has been the usual level of blur – but now Tinhte has got hold of clearer images.
Apparently coming from Vietnam, the pictures once again show the handset which has appeared in previous leaks, but this time we're able to get a proper look at what is potentially the first fully touchscreen BB10 device.
Credit: Tinhte
The device isn't switched on so we can't be sure it's running BlackBerry 10, but there are still a number of points to garner from these snaps.
Features galore
Credit: Tinhte
First up is the rather chunky bezel which adorns the top and bottom of the phone, which adds extra length to the device – think iPhone 5.
Round the back there are slots for a microSIM and microSD card, both of which will be hidden by the rear cover, with the latter accessible without having to remove the battery.
Credit: Tinhte
There's a camera lens and flash hiding in the top corner, while on the right sits the play/pause toggle – similar to the switch on top of the BlackBerry PlayBook.
Connectivity fans rejoice, as according to the snaps the BlackBerry 10 L-Series handset will sport NFC technology as well as microUSB and microHDMI slots.
Credit: Tinhte
RIM is keeping quiet on its upcoming handsets, and while it is happy to tell us it will be launching full-touchscreen and a QWERTY keyboard handsets on January 30, no further details are being revealed.
Samsung has started pushing out the Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean update to the Galaxy Note 2.
It's only reached Poland so far, according to the table over at SamMobile, but is rolling out in phases. So keep hitting the update button and hopefully you should see it soon enough.
So what's new? Well there's a host of new features. You get new additions in Notification Toggles, you can customise the Notifications Panel, and the brightness slider in the Notifications Panel can be disabled.
Multi-View can be disabled as well, the browser is smoother than before, and the Status Bar is now black instead of grey. You can type on the keyboard just by dragging your finger across it (like Swype or Android 4.2 Jelly Bean), there's a new ink effect on the lockscreen, as well as a new Group Cast app.
So no world-changing features, admittedly, but they all count.
S3 leads the way
Samsung recently started rolling out the same update to the Galaxy S3 smartphone.
The Galaxy Note 2 is one of Samsung's flagship devices, along with the S3, so it obviously wants to keep both up to date. Neither have Android 4.2 Jelly Bean yet though, as found on the Nexus 4.
BlackBerry developers can finally get to work in earnest as RIM announces the BlackBerry 10 SDK has gone gold.
The development tools are now finalized, letting devs create apps that will run on the final BB10 hardware.
The SDK support apps created in native C/C++ and C++/Qt Cascades, along with porting apps created in Action Script with Adobe AIR, HTML5 with WebWorks and for Android devices.
The tools will make it possible for developers to implement native BB 10 features and APIs, including the APIs for the camera, notifications, push, in-app payments, and ambient light sensors.
All according to plan
RIM is right on schedule with its BlackBerry 10 plans, announcing last month that the final SDK would release by Dec. 11.
The next milestone on RIM's calendar is Jan. 21, which is the deadline for developers to submit their apps to the BlackBerry App World storefront for a guaranteed $10,000 (around £6,100/ AU$9,700) in revenue.
That gives developers a little over a month to whip their apps into shape if they want to take advantage of the generous app revenue scheme.
RIM has scheduled a Jan. 30 event to launch its long-awaited BlackBerry 10 OS, with hardware expected to follow shortly after in both touchscreen and QWERTY keyboard varieties.
The SkyDrive app may not have much of a future on iOS according to a new report detailing Microsoft's refusal to share revenue with Apple.
Microsoft recently introduced the ability to purchase more cloud storage for SkyDrive in-app, and reportedly balked at sharing that revenue with its Cupertino cohort.
The App Store's policy dictates Apple will receive 30 percent of all app sales, as well as 30 percent of all revenue generated by in-app purchases.
Apple would continue to earn 30 percent of the SkyDrive subscription fees even if a consumer no longer used an iOS device, which caused Microsoft to rethink its stance on profit-sharing.
As a result, Apple is now blocking Microsoft's latest update to SkyDrive, despite repeated tries from Microsoft to work out some kind of arrangement.
Third-party problems
Sources familiar with the issue told The Next Web Microsoft has been trying to work out a compromise with Apple, but hasn't had much success.
Microsoft reportedly even said it would remove all subscription options from the app, thus removing the SkyDrive app's ability to generate revenue, but Apple rebuffed the offer.
Since neither party has been able to resolve the issue, an update fixing a bug that crashes SkyDrive on iOS hasn't been pushed to consumers.
Microsoft confirmed in statement to several news outlets, including The Verge, that its latest SkyDrive iOS update is being delayed by Apple, though there was no mention as to what was causing the hold up.
"Similar to the experiences of some other companies, we are experiencing a delay in approval of our updated SkyDrive for iOS," a company spokesperson said.
"We are in contact with Apple regarding the matter and hope to come to a resolution."
Even more disconcerting are the ramifications being felt by developers who have third-party apps that work in conjunction with SkyDrive.
Several of the apps in question require users to sign into SkyDrive, but Apple's review team has denied such access claiming "the log in interface must be native and not a link or a web view."
In other words, since users won't have to log in through Apple, and would instead be able to log in through Microsoft, the apps are being cut off until Microsoft agrees to pay.
The whole story?
Though The Next Web's sources point out this SkyDrive tussle is causing mounting friction between Apple and Microsoft, there may be another twist to the story.
According to AllThingsD, the squeeze is being put on SkyDrive due to Microsoft's desire to renegotiate the 70/30 revenue split with Apple over Office 365 subscriptions.
The sources close to the matter didn't divulge just what kind of split Microsoft was seeking instead, but did say Apple is reticent to change its policies, even for a massive money maker like Office.
Office Mobile for iOS isn't due to arrive until sometime next year, which gives Microsoft some time to continue negotiations with Apple, even if those talks come at the cost of SkyDrive's users.
Apple's policies shouldn't be new information for anyone involved in developing apps for iOS, so it will be interesting to see just how much flexibility will be given to Microsoft as the discussions progress.
TechRadar asked Microsoft and Apple for further comment, and will update this article when and if the companies respond.
