Motorola May Sell Ailing Cell Phone Division

Passes Symbian; iPhone at No. 3

(NEWSER) - Google’s Android is now the world’s most popular smartphone platform, having edged past Nokia’s Symbian in the fourth quarter of 2010. Vendors shipped 33.3 million Android-based phones that quarter, beating Symbian’s 31 million, a report out today finds. That’s good news for Android phone vendors LG and Acer, who saw sales volume boosts of 4,127% and 709% from Q4 of 2009—and for Samsung and HTC, who together shipped nearly 45% of all Android phones in the period, reports CNET . More»

And Android users are chaste

(NEWSER) - If you're looking to get laid by a wider range of paramours, maybe you should trade in your Android for an iPhone. A new study shows that female iPhone users have an average of 12 sexual partners by age 30, and male iPhone users 10 partners, compared with six for male and female Android users and about eight for Blackberry users, FastCompany reports. More»

(NEWSER) - Dell is considering a move into the smartphone business, the Wall Street Journal reports. The computer company has had engineers working on models for more than a year and could launch a competitor to the iPhone or Blackberry as early as next month. CEO Michael Dell also could pull the plug on the project, which remains officially under wraps. More»

Recession driving down sales

(NEWSER) - The cellphone market is experiencing a significant sales slide, with the most serious decline so far among lower-income users, reports the Wall Street Journal. Studies reveal first quarter sales dips ranging from 5% to 22%. Analysts expect growth to slow even further. The market may be reaching saturation with 83% of Americans owning cellphones. More»

Motorola posts larger-than-expected $194M loss

(NEWSER) - Apple and Nokia chewed away at Motorola’s cellphone market share, pushing the troubled handset maker to a larger first-quarter loss than expected, Bloomberg reports. Moto lost $194 million, or 9 cents a share, and revenues fell 21% to $7.45 billion. The company also issued a bleak forecast for Q2 as handset shipments plunged 40%. Moto plans to spin off its handset unit this year. More»