iPad's Market Share Said to have Fallen to 61.3 Percent

Reuters reports today on new figures from Strategy Analytics, which say that Apple’s iPad only had a 61.3 percent share of the tablet market in the second quarter, not bad, of course, but down significantly from 94.3 percent in the year-ago quarter. According to Strategy Analytics’ figures, the second quarter of 2011 also saw Android increasing its market share to 30 percent, up from 2.9 percent in the year-ago quarter. However, as MacRumors reports, Strategy Analytics figures have come under some scrutiny and debate, in particular from Daring Fireball’s John Gruber, who says that Strategy Analytics only looks at shipped products, not tablets that have been actually purchased by customers, and therefore their figures don’t reflect the Android tablets that are left on store shelves

T-Mobile Says G-Slate More Than Two Times Faster than iPad 2

BGR reports today that a page that has just appeared on T-Mobile USA’s website is getting rather carried away comparing its new Honeycomb tablet, the LG G-Slate, to Apple’s iPad. On the website, T-Mobile says that the G-Slate is more than two times faster than the iPad 2, and three times faster than the Motorola XOOM. T-Mobile also makes a point of mentioning how much cheaper the Slate is that the other tablets, coming in at $399.99 with a two-year data package, or $599.99 without. An equivalent iPad costs $729, and XOOM $599/$799. Boy Genius Report got in touch with T-Mobile about its claims that the Slate is so much faster than the iPad and XOOM, asking specifically how the company came up with those speeds. 

“An independent third party conducted testing to compare T-Mobile’s G-Slate, AT&T’s iPad 2 and Verizon Wireless’ Motorola XOOM,” a spokesperson told BGR, before going on to explain that the testing took place in New York and Seattle, in 30 locations. The total sample size was 300 tests. Surely this is really more a test of network speed though, rather than of the quality of the tablet, as the G-Slate has the advantage over the other two of running on T-Mobile’s 4G HSPA+ service. 

North Carolina Town Council Ditches Paper for iPads

The New York Times has just published a fascinating article about the town of Cornelius, N.C. (pop. 25,000), which has replaced town council paper work with iPads, swapping printing endless piles of meeting agenda packages with iPads for the town’s commissioners. Speaking to the Times, along with police chief Bence Hoyle, town manager Anthony Roberts explained why the town council had made the decision. Roberts said that for each meeting, 20 agendas at 200 pages per agenda would have to be printed up, making 4,000 pages per meeting, which would then be recycled. And aside from those printing and paper costs, simply putting the agendas together took eight hours per agenda, with changes often having to be made. Chief Hoyle also added that each agenda would have to be delivered to the town commissioners by the Police Department to ensure that they got it in time. 

“We see it as a money-saving measure. We see it as saving our taxpayers money,” Roberts told the Times, going on to explain that the town owns 16 iPads in total, which are given to the department heads, mayor, board members, town clerk, finance director, police chief and the I.T. team. Roberts didn’t give a figure as to how much money exactly the town would be saving, but he estimated that the town would have saved the $8,000 spent on the iPads in approximately a year and a half.

[Download] Netflix 1.3 working on Honeycomb Tablets

The latest version of the Netflix Android app released today added 16 new devices to it's support list. No one expected it to work on tablets but thanks to Droid-Life who got confirmation that this latest version does in fact work on Honeycomb Tablets.

Apple Legal Rampage; Threatens GetJar over "App Store"; Files 2nd Infringement vs HTC

If you were a lawyer working for Apple right now, you would probably both love and hate them; Love them, because of all the money you are making from them, and hate them because of all the endless work they are making you do. You can add two new targets to the legal onslaught coming from the rampaging fruit. Apple has just threatened a lawsuit against GetJar, a 3rd party app store, for using "app store", just like they did with Amazon, telling them to "stop using 'Apps Store'". Luckily, the "little company that could" will not bow to Apple's demands and flatly said, "No." GetJar have decided to stand up to what they call Apple's "bullying". It's almost surprising that Apple is pursuing these legal actions over the term "App Store", because their trademark of it is still being contested by Microsoft in a USPTO case that is still unsettled at this time. And, of course, they are still fighting it out in court with Amazon for the same issue, and even had a legal setback in the case recently. 

Regardless, it appears that the fruit will do what the fruit does, and they aren't stopping there with their legal shenanigans. Apparently, Apple has also filed a 2nd ITC patent infringement complaint against HTC over (publicly) unspecified devices, and seeks to block the import of "personal electronic devices" by HTC. There is no comment from HTC regarding this yet, and, although their previous case with Apple regarding similar issues hasn't been decided yet, it should be finished by August 5th. Perhaps we will know something more then. This is almost precisely what they are doing with Samsung too.

I am not one to become a fan-boy, or anti-fan-boy, of one company over another. I tend to follow the technology that impresses me the most, even if it comes from a competitor. I admit, that there are several devices from Apple that are very impressive, but when it comes to stuff like this, it really makes me scratch my head. I am all for a company protecting their intellectual property rights, but from the beginning of this, the idea that Apple could trademark something as generic as "app store" just seemed... unjust. When does Apple need to take a step back and reevaluate how their behavior makes them look in the public eye? At what point does "protecting your IP" become "abusing the legal system for strategic market advantage"? Right now, it just seems like Apple is picking on everybody and everything "just because they can." Apple's PR people should rein in the legal department before they irreparably damage the company's reputation, if they haven't already. 

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Google May Increase Prices and Processor Performance of Chromebooks

So far, the Chromebook hasn't been extremely successful for Google. Even in Asia, the netbooks/notebooks aren't selling well. Marketing teams at Google have identified the problem as a price & performance issue, and that they are simply trying to compete in the wrong market segment. Since their release, the Chromebook has been pegged as an entry-level competitor to netbooks and Apple's iPad. Unfortunately, this leaves the $500 dollar pricing of the Chromebook at the very upper end of the pricing spectrum in that tier of product. Google's solution is to upgrade the processor from the Intel Atom that currently runs it, to the Intel Core i3 CPU, and then raise the price above the $500 dollar barrier to the mid-level product segment. Google is currently planning to make this upgrade and move the product into that consumer tier as early as the fourth quarter of this year. 

Ultimately, the real problem for the device is not reality, but perception. Consumers perceive the product as a lower-end and slower device due to the Intel Atom chip that is typically in $300 dollar and less netbooks. Thus, its pricing at $500 dollars seems like too hard of a pill to swallow for consumers that don't realize it can do much more than your typical netbook. From the other side, typical notebook consumers have a perception that the device can't perform many of the same functions as their Windows based notebooks, leaving the Chromebook in a "no-win scenario". Google hopes that by increasing the processor speed and upping the price, they can convince the mid-range consumer that the Chromebook is a less-expensive alternative to a typical notebook computer. Apparently, confidence in Google's ability to make this transition isn't dampened within their OEMs, because Samsung, Acer and Asus, have all agreed to join in with the new upgrades. Now, they just need to translate that confidence to consumers, and perhaps they can make a dramatic turnaround for the fledgling product.

Sony Ericsson Xperia Play for Only a Penny at Amazon!

The Sony Ericsson Xperia Play just received the most ridiculous price drop on Amazon. You can now get the "PlayStation-dubbed" phone for only $.01 cent on Amazon! Furthermore, this is for any type of contract, including family plans and renewals! It would appear from this that the phone, which has only been out for a few months, hasn't really fared well in sales. How else could you explain practically giving it away? Still, this deal seems like a "no-brainer" to buy for a new or renewed contract for your kids to have an Android phone that they can also play games with. Match this up with Amazon's current "Get $15 for Apps, MP3s, and Kindle Content" Android purchase deal, and you are actually getting paid to take the phone. This really is just an amazing deal on a phone that may not be dual-core, but still packs a decent punch.

Chromebooks Now Available Starting at Only $349 dollars!

Despite earlier reports that suggested Google may release Chromebooks at a higher price-point, instead they are launching starting at just $349 dollars. The cloud-based net device from Google could eventually become the next evolution of technology for the computing world. It heralds another step toward Google's vision of information easily and quickly available to everyone. Here are the details on the launch:

Chromebooks now available.

You asked to be notified when Chromebooks became available. We're pleased to inform you that they're available starting at $349.

Built for the web.
Listen to music. Play games. Edit photos. Thanks to the Chrome Web Store, you can find apps to do anything.

Stay connected.
With a long-lasting battery and built in WiFi and 3G, it's easy to stay connected anytime, anywhere.

Boots in 8 seconds. Resumes instantly.
Chromebooks are fast — and are designed to get faster over time as they get automatically updated.

Samsung Removes Anymode Brand "Smart Case" Accessory From Store Amidst Controversy

Recently, Samsung briefly had a new accessory on their site designed specifically for the Galaxy Tab 10.1. It's called the "Smart Case" from Anymode, and the controversy surrounding it stems from the fact that it looks like an obvious "knock-off" of a very similar product for the Apple iPad2, called the "Smart Cover." Samsung immediately pulled the accessory from their website and issued a statement regarding it. They indicated that the accessory never received official "Designed for Samsung Mobile" certification, and that they were "working with Anymode to address this oversight." They also shared that none of the cases had actually been sold.

Does it seem like they are having an almost paranoid, "knee-jerk" reaction to this because of all their legal fights with Apple? It's hard to blame them... it was probably a wise reaction. Check out the pic above for an idea of what the folding case looks like.

Lenovo Officially Unveils Its IdeaPad K1; Honeycomb with Full Netflix Compatibility

Even though we've heard about it for weeks now, Lenovo finally pulls the cover off their first Android Honeycomb tablet, the IdeaPad K1. Besides the specs listed below, the most exciting thing about this tab is that it is the first Honeycomb enabled device that comes stock with full Netflix compatibility.

• 10.1 1280x800 display
• 1GHz Dual-Core Tegra 2 chipset
• 1GB RAM
• 16/32GB on-board storage; SD Card slot
• MicroHDMI
• WiFi
• A Gobi chip for optional 3G (AT&T, Verizon, Sprint)
• 5MP rear camera; 2MP front
• Android 3.1
• Two-Cell battery for up to 10 hours of life

DC Comics Android App Arrives Just Before Comic-Con 2011

Fans of DC Comics, or just comics in general, will be pleased to hear about a new DC Comics App arriving to an Android near you just in time for San Diego, Comic-Con 2011. DC Comics decided to partner with comiXology, maker of the popular comic book reader app with the same name. The result is the first DC-branded app for Android that lets your purchase and read some of your favorite titles on your android smartphone or tablet. You can download over 3,000 titles from DC Comics and Vertigo, and they are available for purchase from $0.99 to $2.99 per issue. You can even access your purchases through your PC as well

Apple Legal Rampage; Threatens GetJar over "App Store"; Files 2nd Infringement vs HTC

If you were a lawyer working for Apple right now, you would probably both love and hate them; Love them, because of all the money you are making from them, and hate them because of all the endless work they are making you do. You can add two new targets to the legal onslaught coming from the rampaging fruit. Apple has just threatened a lawsuit against GetJar, a 3rd party app store, for using "app store", just like they did with Amazon, telling them to "stop using 'Apps Store'". Luckily, the "little company that could" will not bow to Apple's demands and flatly said, "No." GetJar have decided to stand up to what they call Apple's "bullying". It's almost surprising that Apple is pursuing these legal actions over the term "App Store", because their trademark of it is still being contested by Microsoft in a USPTO case that is still unsettled at this time. And, of course, they are still fighting it out in court with Amazon for the same issue, and even had a legal setback in the case recently.

Regardless, it appears that the fruit will do what the fruit does, and they aren't stopping there with their legal shenanigans. Apparently, Apple has also filed a 2nd ITC patent infringement complaint against HTC over (publicly) unspecified devices, and seeks to block the import of "personal electronic devices" by HTC. There is no comment from HTC regarding this yet, and, although their previous case with Apple regarding similar issues hasn't been decided yet, it should be finished by August 5th. Perhaps we will know something more then. This is almost precisely what they are doing with Samsung too.

I am not one to become a fan-boy, or anti-fan-boy, of one company over another. I tend to follow the technology that impresses me the most, even if it comes from a competitor. I admit, that there are several devices from Apple that are very impressive, but when it comes to stuff like this, it really makes me scratch my head. I am all for a company protecting their intellectual property rights, but from the beginning of this, the idea that Apple could trademark something as generic as "app store" just seemed... unjust. When does Apple need to take a step back and reevaluate how their behavior makes them look in the public eye? At what point does "protecting your IP" become "abusing the legal system for strategic market advantage"? Right now, it just seems like Apple is picking on everybody and everything "just because they can." Apple's PR people should rein in the legal department before they irreparably damage the company's reputation, if they haven't already.

As consumers we really shouldn't desire to see Apple fail in any way. Even if we choose to purchase competing products to Apple, the fact that they are innovative helps push their competitors to make better products. This "cycle" benefits consumers in the long run by continuously evolving the technology, and keeping prices down. Our Androids are better and cheaper because Apple exists. Although I doubt that this negative legal "junk" will actually impact Apple in a big way in the long run, consumers are a fickle bunch,