Could this be why Google is pulling in the reins on Honeycomb?

Google recently made a decision to delay the release of the Android Honeycomb code to the open source community, claiming it wasn't ready. Many feel as if this is Google's attempt to rein in the "wild west" approach that developers and (mostly) the carriers have created. More control means more consistent user experience.  Just ask Apple.

But I would also argue that by moving to be less "open", Google may be attempting to improve the platform to attract the better third-party developers. Third-party Android apps are still seriously lacking in terms of quality. This is an advantage that Apple still enjoys to this day. The iOS App Store makes developers money. iOS customers are willing to pay for quality apps because there are more quality apps to choose from. To this day, it is still difficult to name an Android third-party "Must Have" exclusive app. There are several for iOS.

We are starting to see the effects of fragmentation on Android's mobile market. Could this be the reason Google is pulling in the reins?

AnandTech avoids the current trend, continues to report on iPhone 4 antenna "issue" with real analysis.

Gotta love the guys over at AnandTech. During this ridiculous trend of "piling on" from many of the news sources & blogs, AnadTech has been consistently looking at this "issue" with a keen analytical eye and have conducted some of the best testing I've seen anyone report (including Consumer Reports).

This follow-up post from them just goes to show that this issue has been blown-up larger than it really is due to a faulty signal level indicator, which leads people to believe that they are loosing more signal than they really are when holding the iPhone with the ridiculously named "death grip". Is it an issue? Well, people can definitely make the antenna attenuate by holding it a certain way. But overall, the iPhone 4's antenna design has been leading to better reception for most users. This is based on a full week of reading numerous blog posts from actual users who are now claiming that they are receiving calls where they were unable to receive them before with previous phones.

I, like everyone else, am looking forward to how Apple will handle this issue. But I hope more people will make an effort to read AnadTech's post and get a better idea of exactly how much of an issue this really has turned out to be. The iPhone 4 is flat out the best iPhone released to date, with better reception, an industry-leading screen, and much more speed. It would be a shame if this issue ended up distracting everyone from all of the benefits of owning the phone. The "Pros" definitely outweigh the "Cons".

Check out AnadTech's post here:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/3821/iphone-4-redux-analyzing-apples-ios-41-signal-fix

Microsoft CEO Steve Balmer hypes Windows 7-based slates, makes no mention of HP when touting partners.

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/idCNN1217743120100712?rpc=44

At Microsoft's annual partner conference in Washington, D.C. today, CEO Steve Balmer stressed that Windows 7-based "slate" devices are one of the most important things that his company will do this year. According to the Reuters article credited above:

“This year, one of the most important things that we will do in the smart device category is really push forward with Windows 7-based slates,” said Ballmer. “This is a terribly important area for us.”

He then went on to list the partners who have plans to release Windows 7-based tablet devices this year, mentioning Acer Inc, Dell Inc, Samsung Electronics Co Ltd, Toshiba Corp, Sony Corp and several other PC makers. But he failed to mention Microsoft's largest partner by far -- HP. Was this an unlikely oversight, or could it be that HP has elected to pass on using a desktop OS from Microsoft and instead has chosen to pursue tablets running their recently acquired WebOS? For years, tablets running a desktop OS have failed to attract customers beyond a small niche group. This has been primarily due to the fact that a desktop OS is not ideally suited for a touch interface.

Click to read more ...

100-year-old iGranny loves her iPad!

Kudos to Macenstein for the link.

Apple to Introduce iPhone OS 4.0 on Thur. April 8.

Five days after the release of the iPad, Apple is introducing the next version of the iPhone OS. I have 2 questions -- what new features can we expect, and what about new iPhone hardware?

Full story: http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/10/04/05/apple_to_introduce_iphone_os_4_0_on_april_8.html