Linked List: October 1, 2010

Friday, 1 October 2010

Sourcebits 

My thanks to Sourcebits for again sponsoring this week’s DF RSS feed. Sourcebits offers software development services, specializing in mobile platforms like iOS (including both iPhone and iPad), Android, BlackBerry, and the web. If you’re looking for software development services, check out Sourcebits’s website for more information and examples of their work, including Night Stand HD, their bestselling clock app for iPhone and iPad.

Microsoft, AT&T Set to Unveil Windows Phone 7 Handsets 

The timing of the Motorola lawsuit was not coincidental — it’s all part of the Windows Phone 7 ramp-up:

Microsoft Corp. will formally unveil a lineup of smartphones using the revamped version of its mobile operating system on Oct. 11, and AT&T Inc. will begin offering them four weeks later, according to people familiar with the launch plans.

The launch — centered in New York with satellite events elsewhere — is crucial for Microsoft, which has been battered by Apple Inc.’s iPhone and a wave of flashier consumer friendly devices using Google Inc.’s Android mobile software.

Update: Consider too that Motorola’s Android phones are most closely aligned with Verizon, at least here in the U.S.

Microsoft Sues Motorola Over Android 

Nick Wingfield, reporting for the WSJ:

Microsoft Corp. accused Motorola Inc. of violating its patents with smartphones that use Google Inc.’s Android operating system, firing a legal salvo in the a market where Microsoft has struggled.

The Redmond, Wash., company said it filed complaints against Motorola with the International Trade Commission and federal court in Seattle, alleging that Motorola’s Android-based phones violate nine Microsoft patents covering the synchronization of email, calendars and contacts, scheduling of meetings, and notifying applications of changes in signal strength and battery power.

Remember back in April, when HTC signed this agreement with Microsoft:

Microsoft Corp. and HTC Corp. have signed a patent agreement that provides broad coverage under Microsoft’s patent portfolio for HTC’s mobile phones running the Android mobile platform. Under the terms of the agreement, Microsoft will receive royalties from HTC.

So Microsoft’s stance is that handset makers can use Windows Phone 7 and pay Microsoft, or they can use Android and pay Microsoft. They’re suing Motorola (I wonder if Samsung is next) but the target is Google — just like with Apple’s suit against HTC.

iOS and Android Web Usage Growth 

Serenity Caldwell for Macworld, regarding this report from Netmarketcircle:

The report, released Friday, tracks the usage share of both mobile operating systems from November 2009 to September 2010. Android market share grew a whopping eight times over that ten-month span, traveling from an initial 0.03 percent adoption to 0.24 percent by the end of September. Apple’s iOS continued a steady but upward climb, nearly tripling its 0.43 percent share to 1.18 percent.

The report also broke out the prevalence of individual iOS devices. The iPhone leads the pack with 0.75 percent, followed by the iPad at 0.30 percent, and the iPod at 0.12 percent. (And yes, that iPad number is larger than than the total Android usage share.)

10 Ways People Are Using the iPad to Create Content 

The funny thing is, you still see people talking about the iPad being only for consumption. I don’t think it’ll ever end.

Writer for iPad 

Another iPad text editor with Dropbox syncing, this one from Information Architects. Definitely worth a look: a spartan plain text interface, a custom monospaced font, and a few convenient customizations to the on-screen keyboard. The “focus” features seem unnecessary to me — how much more focused do you need a writing interface to be than the default Writer view? Note the FAQ, which points out some non-obvious things, like how to rename documents. $4.99 at the App Store.

On Google Buying Twitter 

John Battelle:

Here’s my simple reasoning for why Google won’t buy Twitter: Twitter won’t sell.

Walt Disney’s Original Plan for EPCOT 

“It will be a community of tomorrow, that will never be completed.”

(Via Jennifer Brook.)

HP Stock Tanks After It Hires No-Name CEO 

I’ll admit, I never heard of the guy.