Android’s smartphone surge surprise
Android overtaking the iPhone in the smartphone market may have been inevitable, but few expected it to happen this fast.
Android sailed past Apple on US smartphones in the first quarter, according to the NPD research firm, with 28 per cent of unit sales, compared to 36 per cent for BlackBerry maker RIM and 21 per cent for those using the Apple operating system. Read more
Moto’s Devour joins Droid at Verizon Wireless
Motorola‘s share of the global mobile phone market has fallen from a Razor-fuelled 22 plus per cent four years ago, to just 3.7 per cent in the latest quarter. But don’t count the US phone maker out just yet.
Verizon Wireless, the largest US mobile phone network operator, confirmed today that it will start selling its second Android-based Motorola smartphone next month. Read more
Droid – the good, the bad and the ugly
Droid, the most hyped Android phone to date – even Google promoted it on its home page today – is finally available to buy in Verizon Wireless stores.
More than 100 people queued at midnight outside a midtown Manhattan store to be among the first members of the public to get their hands on one.
I’ve been lucky enough to have one on loan for more than a week now, so here’s my assessment after the jump of whether it has been worth the wait and queues. Read more
Verizon has a Droid for that
The amount of anti-iPhone propaganda emanating from Verizon Wireless suggests the rumour mongers have all been wrong that the US carrier will finally get the device when AT&T’s exclusive agreement with Apple expires in June 2010.
Verizon’s latest jibe at the iPhone and AT&T came this weekend with a teaser commercial for its first Android phone – the Motorola Droid, launching in November. Read more
| About this blog | Blog guide |
Richard Waters has headed the FT's San Francisco bureau since 2002 and covers Google and Microsoft, among other things. A former New York bureau chief for the FT, he is intrigued by Silicon Valley's unique financial and business culture, and is looking forward to covering his second Tech Bust.
Chris Nuttall has been online and messing around with computers for more than 20 years and since 2004 has reported from the FT's San Francisco bureau on semiconductors, video games, consumer electronics and all things interwebby.
Maija Palmer has been writing about technology for the FT since 1999 and is fascinated by cybercrime, privacy and all the other issues of the information society. Based in London, she covers European tech companies and hopes that they won't all get acquired by American rivals.
Robin Kwong is the FT's technology, media and telecoms page editor in London. Formerly he was the Taipei correspondent and wrote about the companies that manufacture the vast majority of the world's computers and gadgets. He is interested in the intricacies of the technology supply chain and how China is increasingly changing the tech landscape.
Tim Bradshaw is the FT's digital media correspondent, and has just moved from London to join our team in San Francisco. He has covered start-ups such as Twitter and Spotify, as well as the online ambitions of more established media companies, such as the BBC iPlayer. He also covers the advertising, marketing and video-game industries. Tim has been writing about technology, business and finance since 2003.
