iPhone Competitors Close In on Apple

(NEWSER) - Apple and AT&T rejected the Google Voice app for the iPhone, driving TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington to drop the mobile device entirely. Why are Apple and its carrier blocking an innovative program that has amazing call-forwarding features and transcribes voicemail into text? “Because they absolutely don’t want people doing exactly what I’m doing,” Arrington writes. “Moving their phone number to Google and using the carrier as a dumb pipe.” More»

(NEWSER) - The iPhone itself isn’t in a class by itself as far as smartphones are concerned, Farhad Manjoo writes for Slate—but the App Store makes it unbeatable. Apple boasts more than 50,000 applications, and the rate is increasing; Google’s Android operating system only supports 5,000. “The iPhone has attracted something that none of its rivals can match,” Manjoo writes: “a devoted following of developers who are building amazing programs for the device.” More»

(NEWSER) - Sprint will launch the much-ballyhooed Palm Pre smartphone June 6, two days before the annual Apple Worldwide Developers Conference. Though this year’s WWDC isn’t expected to produce any new hardware, John Biggs writes for TechCrunch, the scheduling of the Pre launch is connected … probably. Though unlikely, Biggs writes, it’s possible Sprint “just wanted to get something out on a nice Saturday.” More»

The Bold 9900: 'Does Anybody Care'?

(NEWSER) - There’s a new BlackBerry on the market, but the “the question is: Does anybody care?” Apple and Google dominate the market, and things are “not looking good” for Research in Motion, which just laid off 2,000 people, writes David Pogue in the New York Times . That aside, how’s the new Bold 9900? “Gorgeous,” and the thinnest BlackBerry yet, with a “comfortable” keyboard and a “beautiful, responsive touch screen.” It’s a great phone—yet it’s not enough to compete with iPhone or Android. More»

Google's operating system barely edges out Apple's

(NEWSER) - Is Apple losing its grip on smartphone buyers? Google's Android is already the most widely-used operating system , and a new survey shows it may also be the most wanted. In a poll of US cell phone consumers this year, Nielsen found that 31% planned to buy a new smartphone and wanted an Android phone. The iPhone was a close second at 30%, the Los Angeles Times reports, followed by the BlackBerry at 11%. More»