It all began with a Dream, and that dream led to over 850,000 Android devices now being activated each day. HTC takes us back by announcing unlock bootloader support for the HTC Dream. You heard that right, you can now root Android’s roots. If you happen to have an unrooted Dream laying around and feel like kicking it old school, head over to HTCdev.com and go back to the future — just try not to create a time paradox while your tinkering around.
Having a device that’s “Playstation Certified” hasn’t meant much thanks to a dismal Playstation Suite. Promises of premium exclusive content has fallen short due to the lack of development. In an attempt to gain increased developer interest, Sony has announced it will be releasing an open beta version of the Playstation Suite SDK next month with an official version to follow later in the year. While the open beta will be free to all, the offical release will cost $99 annually and will allow developers to distribute their content through the PlayStation Store. Sony has to do something to entice consumers to purchase a “Playstation Certified” device and while having the branding alone is a nice incentive, without content, it’s nothing more than a marketing ploy.
If 15 days is too long for you to wait for the new Angry Birds Space to arrive, you can get your fix now by heading to the Android Market Google Play Store (meh) and downloading the latest Angry Birds Seasons update. In this latest update, your favorite angry aviators head to Japan for the Cherry Blossom celebration and are met by green headband touting pigs. Enjoy 15 new levels as well as two intriguing bonus levels, all set to the beautiful scenery in the shadow of Mt. Fuji.
Report after report, same old, same old: Android and iOS continue to kick everyone’s arse in the mobile market. The latest comScore report is out, and once again, these two remain the only ones gaining any market share. Android continues to lead the pack with 48.6% (up 2.3 percentage points) while iOS remains in second with 29.5% (up 1.4 percentage points). Everyone else continues to lose market share with RIM holding the third position at 15.2% (down 2 percentage points. After that it’s Microsoft with 4.4% (down 1 percentage point) followed by Symbian with 1.5% (down .1 percentage point). Overall Android and iOS occupy 78.1% of the market with no signs of slowing down.
In a move that would surely have Steve Jobs — the man willing to go thermonuclear war against Android — rolling over in his grave, Apple has apparently offered licensing deals to Samsung and Motorola in an attempt to settle ongoing and future patent suits. According to sources speaking with Dow Jones Newswires, Apple has offered licensing deals in the tune of $5 to $15 per device or the equivalent of 1% to 2.5% of net sales per device. Interestingly enough, these fees are on par with what Apple deemed “unreasonable” after attempts to license patents from Motorola.
