Motorola + Android + Bing: is Microsoft jumping ship?

There are two pieces of news going around at the moment that would make you wonder if Microsoft is thinking about moving away from Windows Mobile. First, reports indicate that not only is Windows Mobile haemorrhaging market share, but Android is picking it up. Second, Microsoft has forged a deal with born-again Motorola to put its search and mapping functions onto Motorola Android devices.

Android tools for developers for the Nexage mobile advertising platform

In late December last year, mobile advertiser Nexage landed a big client in Reuters. Nexage now handles the entire mobile advertising inventory for the vast news company. The platform it does this through is AdMax - a “serving” platform that delivers ads to 35 different mobile ad networks around the world. And now the API and SDK set for AdMax has been made available for Android.

Google won’t be happy till every developer on Earth has a free Android

GoMo News reported on the very smartly managed publicity stunt at Mobile World Congress where Google gave a tonne of free Androids out to attendees. But it turns out that going to MWC isn’t the only way for a dev to get free phones - once you’ve sold a high enough number of Android apps, you’re automatically eligible.

Microsoft’s very first Android application is a mobile barcode reader

When a company like Microsoft releases an app for Android, there’s usually a lot of murmurs along the lines of “my, my, but Google is a competitor“. I don’t buy into that - companies release their products on whatever channels they can make money on. Competition is rarely allowed to get in the way of profits (just look at “Google vs. China” for proof of that). It’s not surprising that Microsoft thinks Android is as good a mobile app platform as any other for shifting applications on. What interests me more is that the very first application that Microsoft has announced for Android is it’s mobile barcode reader, Tag Reader.

“Indefinite” ban on Android mobiles from China Unicom turns out to be more “insubstantial”

The Google vs. China conflict that kicked off in January caused some interesting moves amongst Chinese OEMs and operators. Lenovo Mobile, for instance, refused to be bothered by the whole thing and didn’t change it’s Android plans one bit. China Unicom, on the other hand, put an indefinite ban on all Android sales. However, today it has been confirmed that the operator is putting Androids back on shelves.

The ultimate in mobile tease shows: Fennec mobile browser shows up on Android

The eagerly anticipated mobile browser from Firefox, Fennec, has shown another bit of leg this weekend. A picture of the browser in operation on an Android Nexus One has set salivary glands working around the world.

Android needs to target lower-end mobile devices, according to Broadcom

Broadcom is one of those companies that’s so big it’s slightly unnerving. Its “stand” at Mobile World Congress was more like a small village, and the mere 25 minutes I had to talk to Michael Civiello, Senior Director of Marketing at the Mobile Comms Business Unit wasn’t barely enough time to cover what the company actually does. But those 25 mins raised some very interesting bits of information - including the central position that Broadcom has carved itself in mobile phone manufacturing, and its opinion on what Android isn’t doing quite right.

Want to IM your friends while playing mobile games? Colibria might have the answer…

“We’re not really interested in being fancy on the front end. We’re just creating a solid Android IM client”. So says Guy Reiffer, VP of Marketing for Colibria. He was taking me through the details of some of the work Colibria has done recently - including the “Canvas” application for facebook (see our article from earlier this week) and an IM client for Android that can be integrated into anything that runs on an Android device.

Free Nexus One? Google pulls one of the best tricks in the book

Yesterday Google was running a program where if you came and sat in the audience to listen to a presentation about creating apps for the Android platform, you would get to leave with a brand new Google Nexus One. Hundreds (if not thousands) of journalists, exhibitors, booth girls, PR agents, etc., etc. thought they would take advantage of Google and get in on this to pick up a free Nexus One. Wow, well aren’t we smart, taking advantage of Google like that.

MWC: Yep, Maemo and Moblin really are on the way out - is an Intel/Nokia device on the way in?

I was among the crowd at the joint Intel/Nokia announcement yesterday when they introduced MeeGo. The service contains a lot of “multi”s - it’s multi-platform, multi-device, multi-system, multi-use, multi-multi. The launch was so big and vague that I was left with a lot of nagging doubts. But today I got to sit down with Scott Apeland, Director of Intels Developer Network, and ask a few questions.

MWC: Mobile browser Skyfire announces a major change of direction with Android and WebKit

In the world of mobile browsers, one of the fastest options is Skyfire. It’s an independent mobile browser, meaning that unlike the mobile versions of Opera or Firefox, it has no stable on-line version backing it up. In an interview at Mobile World Congress, Skyfire CEO Jeffrey Glueck told GoMo about a major shift in direction that will be coming our way soon. Not only is it releasing a version for Android, but it will be integrating elements from the open source WebKit browser engine.

Maemo + Moblin = MeeGo. Intel and Nokia merge mobile operating systems.

Nokia and Intel have announced an interesting merge at Mobile World Congress. They will be launching a new service called MeeGo - which is a blend of Nokia’s Maemo operating system with the Moblin OS. What does that mean exactly? Read on…

Don’t like your Android UI? Don’t worry, there’ll be another one in a minute.

Here’s a cool story about a new Android service. HipLogic is launching a service that will allow mobile operators and mobile makers to embed their own UI on Android devices they support - and to update those UIs over-the-air, as well as launch new ones. This story wouldn’t have had as much of an impact on me before today, but I was discussing the new Acer Liquid Android phone with a friend of mine this morning - and this service would be particularly great for that phone.

Google finally announces Customer Support for the Nexus One… prepare yourself for dissappointment

Way hey! I have to admit, I whooped out loud when I saw this story. Google made a few errors when it launched the Nexus One - but maybe the biggest one was fixed today, as it launched a specific customer support centre for the Nexus One. The lack of this service at launch was maybe the biggest cock-up the company could possibly have made. Why? Read on…

Mobile phone software experts Myriad take a shot at making Android faster, better and last longer

Myriad is a very interesting company - it’s an amalgamation of a tonne of different companies that have had a hand in mobile technology over the years. In fact, there are so many different companies combined under the Myriad name that it has software running on over 2 billion handsets. To use a very Irish phrase: “it’s only bleedin’ massive!”. It is also one of the founding members of the Open Handset Alliance, and has had a huge hand in the development of the Android operating system. And today, it is announcing an upgrade to one of the central elements of Android - the software that its applications run on.

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