According to Canalys, the majority of smartphones sold in 2009 were touchscreen models (about 46% of them, to be precise). Canalys is also reporting that 7.7 million Android handsets made up 4.7% of overall smartphone sales, a growth of 1074% compared to 2008. This is great news for everyone wondering how Android will grow to be the world’s number two mobile OS by 2013 See the graph below for all the juicy details.

Smartphone Sales by OS.

By Ian Wheat on Feb 09

Wow ...2008/2009 Android growth 1073,5%

INILAH.COM, Jakarta - Tidak seperti ponsel China kebanyakan peluncuran smartphone oPhone oleh China Mobile mencuri banyak perhatian. Ponsel berbasis Android ini bahkan dinilai akan mampu menjegal penjualan Apple iPhone di China.

Jika oPhone yang berharga lebih murah itu dilepas ke pasaran, maka handset dengan OS Android itu akan menjadi kompetitor serius bagi bisnis iPhone. oPhone memiliki kelebihan software Google Android yang didesain memberikan fungsi seperti computer, tanpa menambah biaya berbeda dengan iPhone yang memiliki desain mahal.

Tak hanya itu, China Mobile juga mendesain sendiri interface yang mirip sekali dengan interface layar sentuh iPhone. Tak heran jika konsumen tidak akan menemukan perbedaan mencolok di antara keduanya.

Namun untuk menjalankannya diperlukan hardware yang kuat tapi efisien. Salah satu yang mendapat keuntungan adalah Marvell Technology, perusahaan pembuat chip komunikasi. Perusahaan yang berbasis di Santa Clara California itu mengklaim telah berhasil memasukkan chip radionya ke lusinan oPhone China Mobile.

Weili Dai, pendiri Marvell dan kepala unit bisnis komputasi dan konsumen perusahaan itu mengatakan Marvell mengembangkan chip radio ponsel TD-SCDMA selama dua tahun bekerja sama dengan China Mobile dalam prosesnya.

Perusahaan ini hanya satu-satunya yang dapat memasukkan radio TD-SCDMA ke dalam satu chip. Hal itu akan menjadikan harga smartphone di tahun mendatang bias di bawah US$ 100.

"Sebagai satu-satunya penyedia solusi silikon yang berusaha untuk melakukan hal ini kami sangat berkomitmen," kata Dai yang lahir di Shanghai dan kini memiliki pusat pengembangan dengan 700 karyawan.

Saat jaringan 3G China mengalami metamorfosis, perdebatan terjadi mana yang lebih baik oPhone atau iPhone? Masalah itu menjadi topik menarik di China. iPhone hanya dapat digunakan pelanggan China Unicom Ltd yang mengusung jaringan WCDMA. Di sisi lain, oPhone didukung China Mobile Ltd dan menggunakan jaringan TD-SCDMA.

China Mobile mendesain oPhone bersama Lenovo Group Ltd. Walaupun tampilannya mirip dengan iPhone, oPhone dilengkapi dengan sistem operasinya sendiri (OMS, Open Mobile System) yang berdasarkan pada platform Google Android.

China Mobile telah menanamkan layanan 3G di handset itu, termasuk Fetion, CMMB, GPS, dan mobile email, di oPhone. Selain itu toko produk mobile, Mobile Market diharapkan sudah dapat online bulan ini.

Mobile Market menjual berbagai aplikasi, termasuk software permainan dan aplikasi mobile yang dikembangkan oleh vendor atau pengembang pribadi. oPhone pertama yang diproduksi oleh Lenovo Mobile sudah akan berada di pasar September ini.

Walaupun iPhone sangat sukses di AS dan oPhone merupakan pemain baru di China, tapi tidak menghentikan oPhone untuk bersaing. Sementara China Unicom selaku pemegang lisensi iPhone di China belum dapat memberikan semua aplikasi ke dalam iPhone dan hal itu memberikan keuntungan tersendiri pada oPhone.

Ketika era 2G, meskipun China Mobile dan China Unicom keduanya adalah perusahaan milik negara, pengguna China Mobile menikmati kualitas sinyal jauh lebih baik dan cakupan yang lebih luas dibandingkan dengan China Unicom.

Jadi mengetahui pemenang terakhir antara China Mobile (oPhone) dan China Unicom (iPhone) adalah hal menarik. Tapi dalam memilih ponsel, konsumen di China lebih menitikberatkan pada tampilan eksterior dari pada aplikasi yang ada di dalam ponsel.

Hal itu karena konsumen China sebelumnya belum pernah memiliki pengalaman dengan aplikasi. Akan tetapi jika melihat tampilan eksterior saja, maka tidak banyak perbedaan yang mencolok bagi konsumen China dalam memilih antara iPhone dan oPhone.

What's the fuss about Google buzz? Just a day after announcing its intentions to venture into social media, Google is up with a buzz feature in Gmail. Google buzz in Gmail would allow users to share updates, photos, videos and more. As Google says Start conversations about the things you find interesting. To know more about Google Buzz you can get though our Comprehensive Review. That's actually imitating what you do in Twitter or Facebook. With the launch of new features, Google intentions of creating a buzz for its products is pretty clear. nterestingly, Google Maps 4.0 for Android that also supports buzz would be the first to be available in the Android market.

There is already a Google buzz for Mobile for iPhone or Android phones. But now Google would be extending the buzz app support to other mobile phones. I

It's a watch out situation for social networking giants Twitter and Facebook as Google strikes the buzzer with Google buzz.

In case you have some experience with Google buzz to share drop in your comments.

BARCELONA, Spain, Feb 11, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Garmin-Asus, a co-branded alliance between Garmin(R) Ltd. /quotes/comstock/15*!grmn/quotes/nls/grmn (GRMN 31.90, -0.02, -0.06%) , and ASUSTeK(R) Computer Inc. (TAIEX: 2357), today announced the Garmin-Asus nuvifone A50, a touchscreen Android-powered smartphone with multiple location technologies and apps. The A50 benefits from the personalization and enhanced features offered by the Android platform, and also includes Garmin navigation with turn-by-turn, voice prompted directions for use in a car or while walking. Location features are designed into virtually every function including email, text messaging, and photos. The A50 will be on display at the Garmin-Asus booth (Hall 8, #8B127) at Mobile World Congress, February 15-18, 2010.

"The A50 brings premium navigation features to the Android operating system, offering users a seamless location based experience along with access to the wealth of applications that the platform affords," said Benson Lin, vice president and general manager of ASUS' personal mobile devices business unit, handheld business group.

"Location is relevant to everything you do," said Cliff Pemble, Garmin's president and COO. "The A50 integrates navigation and GPS functionality throughout the device, which gives customers the versatility and reliability they need as they navigate their day."

The elegant and thin A50 has a 3.5-inch HVGA capacitive touchscreen display that incorporates a finger-friendly user interface. The QWERTY touchscreen keyboard makes it easy to send and receive messages, and predictive text helps customers type faster. It also comes with hardware features like 4GB internal storage, an expandable microSD card slot, and accelerometer so every screen can be viewed in portrait or landscape mode.

Access to thousands of applications

The A50 integrates Google(TM) mobile services with one-click access to Google Search(TM) by voice, Google Maps(TM), Gmail(TM), YouTube(TM), calendar, contacts and Android Market(TM), where users can find more than 20,000 applications to expand and personalize their phone to fit their lifestyle.

Powerful enterprise email capability

The A50 includes on-device sync with Microsoft Exchange server, with the ability to wirelessly synchronize contacts, calendar and enterprise email. Account setup is quick and easy, and in a few simple steps users will have their contacts, calendar and email ready to go.

High-sensitivity GPS receivers with Garmin navigation

The A50 receives its location (latitude and longitude) information from multiple sources including satellite, network-based and terrestrial sources. These overlapping technologies ensure that A50 customers have the best location and navigation experience a smartphone can offer.

Garmin navigation is included and preloaded on the A50. Because maps are installed on the device, customers will not have to wait for third party maps to download from a server, nor will they lose their turn-by-turn, voice-prompted navigation if they are out of cell phone coverage. The A50 also has many of the same features as a high-end Garmin nuvi(R) navigation device such as lane assist with junction view that guides drivers to the correct lane for an approaching turn or exit and realistically displays road signs. Ready for pedestrian or automotive navigation out-of-the-box, the A50 includes a custom Garmin car mount and vehicle power cable.

The A50 also supports cityXplorer(TM) maps so that customers can plan and use routes that include public transit options such as bus, tramway, metro and suburban rail systems. cityXplorer content is available as an optional download for select cities. Thanks to the A50's e-compass, customers will know their heading even when standing still.

In addition to Android Market, the A50 has preloaded, apps through Garmin-Asus' connected services, which includes real-time, location-relevant information like weather, traffic, fuel prices, safety cameras, flight status. Connected services information varies by country.

Customers also have access to Street View in Google Maps and 3D landmark images.

Surf the web

With a powerful, multi-touch capable WebKit browser, the A50 allows users to browse the web at quick speeds and view streaming content. In addition, it automatically identifies location information embedded within web pages allowing the user to quickly navigate to the locations published on the world-wide web.

Take quality photos

The A50 includes a three mega-pixel camera with auto-focus that automatically geotags images with an exact latitude and longitude reference of where the photo was taken. Customers may then save the image so they can navigate back to the location, or email the geo-tagged image to friends.

Availability

The Garmin-Asus nuvifone A50 is expected to be available in Europe in the first half of 2010. Specific availability and pricing details will be given in the future. Additional information about Garmin-Asus products is available at www.GarminAsus.com.

About Garmin-Asus

Garmin-Asus is a co-branded strategic alliance that enables Garmin Ltd. and ASUSTeK Computer Inc. to combine their complementary resources to develop world class LBS-centric mobile phones.

About Garmin Ltd.

The global leader in satellite navigation, Garmin Ltd. and its subsidiaries have designed, manufactured, marketed and sold navigation, communication and information devices and applications since 1989 -- most of which are enabled by GPS technology. Garmin's products serve automotive, mobile, wireless, outdoor recreation, marine, aviation, and OEM applications. Garmin Ltd. is incorporated in the Cayman Islands, and its principal subsidiaries are located in the United States, Taiwan and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit Garmin's virtual pressroom at www.garmin.com/pressroom or contact the Media Relations department at 913-397-8200.

About ASUS

ASUS is a leading company in the new digital era. With a global staff of more than ten thousand and a world-class R&D design team, the company's revenue for 2008 was 8.1 billion U.S. dollars. ASUS ranks among the top 10 IT companies in BusinessWeek's "InfoTech 100", and has been on the listing for 11 consecutive years. ASUS was also selected by the Wall Street Journal Asia as No.1 in quality and service.

ASUS is a registered trademark of ASUSTeK Computer Inc. Garmin and nuvi are registered trademarks, and nuvifone and cityXplorer are trademarks, of Garmin Ltd.

About Google

Android, Google, Google Search, Google Maps, Gmail, YouTube and Android Market are trademarks of Google, Inc.

All other brands, product names, company names, trademarks and service marks are the properties of their respective owners. All rights reserved.

Notice on forward-looking statements:

This release includes forward-looking statements regarding Garmin Ltd. and its business. All statements regarding the company's future product introductions are forward-looking statements. Such statements are based on management's current expectations. The forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this release may not occur and actual results could differ materially as a result of known and unknown risk factors and uncertainties affecting Garmin, including, but not limited to, the risk factors listed in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 27, 2008, filed by Garmin with the Securities and Exchange Commission (Commission file number 0-31983). A copy of Garmin's Form 10-K can be downloaded at www.garmin.com/aboutGarmin/invRelations/finReports.html. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made and Garmin undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/mmg.cgi?eid=6175894&lang=en

SOURCE: Garmin-Asus

Copyright Business Wire 2010

CALIFORNIA - Penemu Linux, Linus Torvalds selama ini dikenal sebagai sosok yang selalu meremehkan bahkan tak segan-segan menghina sebuah ponsel sekalipun ponsel tersebut dioperasikan dengan sistem operasi open source.

Tapi kehadiran ponsel besutan Google, Nexus One membuatnya tergila-gila. Pria kelahiran Helsinki, Finlandia tahun 1969 tersebut bahkan mengatakan bahwa Nexus One merupakan satu-satunya ponsel yang tak dibencinya.

Torvalds mengungkapkan, sebelumnya ponsel-ponsel yang dimilikinya hanya digunakan untuk bermain game seperti galaga atau Solitaire. "Sekarang saya memiliki gadget yang sangat sangat berguna," kata Torvalds

Selama ini, Torvalds diketahui telah memiliki ponsel Android G1 dan Motorola yang berbasis sistem operasi linux. Tapi belum memuaskannya.

"Saya sebelumnya tidak pernah bersemangat untuk membeli ponsel, tapi hari ini kuakui Nexus One adalah pemenangnya. Saya juga sedang memburu perangkat GPS untuk mobil saya, dan saya yakin navigasi yang sedang dikembangkan Google akan semakin membuat ponsel ini berguna," kata Torvalds seperti dilansir TechCrunch, Senin (8/1/2010).

Nexus One yang kian populer juga sebelumnya digemari oleh pendiri Apple Steve Wozniak. Dalam sebuah wawancara dengan stasiun televisi NBC, Wozniak mengaku telah membeli ponsel berbasis sistem operasi Android tersebut pada saat diluncurkan 5 Januari 2010 silam. Demikian dilansir Telegraph, Sabtu (16/1/2010).

Ketika ditanya tentang gadget favoritnya, dengan santai ayah tiga anak tersebut menjawab, "Yang terbaru, dan bukan produk buatan Apple, ini baru keluar kemarin," jawab Wozniak mengarah ke Nexus One. (ugo)