Apparently, Apple has made a humongous mistake in cloning Shenzen’s Great Long Brother Industrial’s P88 Tablet. The company might sue Apple!

President Wu Xiaolong: “I was very angry and flabbergasted when I saw the news of the iPad presentation two days ago… It is certainly our design. They’ve stolen because we present our P88 to everyone six months ago at the IFA (International Electronics Fair in Berlin).”

He says the P88 (shown above) is identical with the Apple iPad, which was recently announced and slated for a March release. The P88 runs Windows 7 and costs $525, signficantly more than the lowest-range iPad. Though Great Long Brother has applied a patent for the P88 tablet, Chinese authorities take a year before they give approval.

[site, source, via shanghailist]

The iPhone takes more than one-third of the market with 36% but the Google Android smartphones are making important headways. Says Moconews: “Motorola’s successes also signal the strength of the Android operating system. In North America, Android’s share grew throughout the year reaching 27 percent in the fourth quarter, which was by far the highest penetration in any region.”

According to experts, smartphones will dominate the handset market in the future. Even if iPhone loses marketshare there will be a lot of marketshare left to make Apple happy for a long time.

[via phanandroid]

As far as concept designs are concerned, most of them never really make it into commercial production, and that’s just what we thought when we first saw this Nokia Morph concept phone. However, Nokia’s recent filing of a patent for device equipped with a flexible display is making us think otherwise.

Apart from being able to bend into a various shapes as illustrated in the diagram above, the device will also launch specific applications depending on its current shape or form which is exactly what they were proposing with the unveiling of the Nokia Morph concept phone two years ago back in 2008. Here’s what their patent says about the possibilities for such a technology:

In one embodiment the pre-specified shape is also associated with a movement. As a pre-specified shape is detected and followed by the detection of a pre-specified movement an associated function is executed.

FIG. 10a shows a device having been bent to resemble a can, possibly used to hold beer or soda. A search will thus be performed for a bar or a pub either a specific franchise or any bar or pub in the neighborhood.

FIG. 10b shows a device having been bent to resemble a bowl. A search will thus be performed for a restaurant either a specific franchise or any restaurant in the neighborhood.

FIG. 10c shows a device having been bent to resemble a roof or a tent. A search will thus be performed for a hotel, motel or guest house either a specific franchise or any hotel, motel or guesthouse in the neighborhood.

It doesn’t say anything about being a phone though, but hey, these are just some examples of what it can do. You can also argue that patent’s don’t really mean squat unless it actually translates into a commercial product, but nonetheless, this is a definitely a step in the right direction towards the realization of the Nokia Morph phone.

[gorumors via gizmodo]

Besides taking its search engine out of China, Google will not be distributing two new Android phones in the country. They are postponing the launch of an Android-based Samsung smartphone and another one from Motorola. Where not sure if this means the MT710 will still be distributed as announced or it will be the XT800 that gets the stand-by order. With this announcement it’s also possible all Google products will by-pass the entire territory. This move is both bold and very difficult to imagine, as China doesn’t only have the biggest population it’s also the fastest growing economy. As for the OPhone, an Android-based operating system launched by China Mobile, we’re pretty sure the license isn’t controlled by Google. Hopefully, China will fight back with Google phone clones, it will be fun to watch how Google reacts.

[source, photo courtesy of watermark]

With Nexus One, Google, which had been content to power multiple phonemakers’ devices with Android, enters the hardware game, becoming a direct threat to the iPhone. With its Quattro purchase, Apple aims to create completely new kinds of mobile ads, say three sources familiar with Apple’s thinking. The goal isn’t so much to compete with Google in search as to make search on mobile phones obsolete. “Apple and Google both want more,” says Chris Cunningham, founder of the New York mobile advertising firm Appssavvy. “They’re gearing up for the ultimate fight.”

As Morgan Stanley predicts cellphones to be more in use than computers in five years, Apple will be eager to keep its slight advantage on Google, which is the undisputed ad giant on non-mobile computers. Apple could’ve taken a bigger lead on mobile advertising if its interest in AdMob had translated into an acquisition. AdMob as you know is now part of Google, which forced Apple to buy Quattro, the next most popular mobile ad company.

Google’s way of selling ads online may not translate successfully on handsets. Part of Apple’s plan is to make sure this doesn’t happen.

The problem is that user behavior isn’t consistent between desktops and mobile devices. Many people shy away from calling up minuscule search bars on their phones and pecking out queries using cramped keyboards. Search ads tend to be less effective, too, since people are reluctant to give over the one browser screen they have on a phone to an ad. In many cases, apps are far more effective; it takes fewer steps to find the best local sushi joint using apps from Urbanspoon or Yelp than to type out “best local sushi” into a search bar and navigate the results. “Eric Schmidt has said that the search problem is 99% solved, but, boy, is that self-serving,” says Jonathan Yarmis, research fellow with the consulting firm Ovum. “The fact that I have to go to a search bar at all is a sign of failure.”

Where does an Apple-Microsoft partnership come in? Simple: Bing. As an Apple-Google clash is imminent, Apple, which currently enjoys dominance in the smartphone market and with iPhone usage continuing its dazzling growth, may be thinking of replacing Google search on iPhones soon with Bing as possible replacement.

[businessweek via slashdot]

• Motorola Droid: $179.11 (parts) or $187.75 total
• iPhone 3G S: $178.96 total
• Nexus One: $174.15 parts

The Nexus One AMOLED touchscreen is the most valuable while the iPhone’s screen is the cheapest. I’m not surprised. I have a MacBook and the screen is just junk. When Motorola made the Droid, they had no illusions, says iSuppli:

“With the inclusion of all these features, Motorola is attempting to address what it considers to be shortcomings in the iPhone,” Rassweiler said. “However, at the end of the day, it’s Google’s software that will determine how well the device actually operates. This is critical because whatever the perceived shortcomings of the iPhone’s features, it’s the actual user experience that has made it so popular. The real lesson of the iPhone is how well the whole device comes together and actually functions, not how many features it has.”

Read more from the links below.

[isuppli via engadget]

As a result, their Google Nexus One support forum is now being overwhelmed with complaints regarding the inability or inconsistency of their device to switch from EDGE to 3G. There are no numbers you can call. The only way to reach Google is through email, and it usually takes a day or two to get an appropriate response which I personally believe isn’t the best way to handle customer service. Andy Rubin, one of the head honchos at Google, himself admits that they’ve got to do a better job in this department as well. He didn’t layout any plan of action as to how they will be addressing the issue, but hopefully, Google will make the necessary adjustments sooner than later.

How about you guys out there who were brave enough to take the plunge and get yourself a Nexus One this early? How’s your experience so far with Google’s first mobile phone offering?

[google nexus one support forums via engadget]

[engadget via bgr]

[techcrunch via bgr]

However, unlike AT&T, O2 isn’t beating around the bush and facing this problem head on. Ronan Dunne, O2 CEO, has apologized publicly for the outages and, to address the issue, has ordered the installation of 200 additional mobile base stations in London to meet the high data traffic. We like their responsiveness, but wouldn’t it have been better if they were prepared right from the get go?

Verizon in the US, for their part, has bravely gone on record saying that they’re prepared for the high data traffic of the iPhone. We’d like to believe that, but I guess only time will tell if they too will buckle under the pressure of the iPhone or will stand tall amidst the challenge and prove that they are indeed the better network.

[financial times, allthingsd via engadget]