By the end of 2010, Android will be just barely behind the iPhone --- 14.9% to the iPhone's 15.9%, a report concludes.

Google's Android platform came on strong in August, notching a 25 percent smartphone operating system plot, said data firm Quantcast.

What is augmented reality and what does it have to do with smartphone? Take a look a this article.

The Ideos is championed as "an affordable smartphone powered by the latest iteration of Android 2.2." And one of the headline facts is its price: "Between US$100 and US$200, depending on the market."

Unlike its rivals, Samsung doesn't have another flagship phone planned for the crucial holiday season, and will rely solely on its Galaxy S lineup and the upcoming Galaxy Tab tablet, which analysts say could hurt its ability to get carrier support.

Huawei hasn't announced when the phone will start shipping or what it will cost, only saying that the price "will be very attractive."

This reviewer has quite a low opinion on Dell's latest Android phone. "The Aero, you see, runs on Android 1.5 -- an early version of Google's mobile operating system that's 16 months out of date and a lifetime behind in functionality and performance. For a brand new phone to be shipping with a year-old version of Android is simply embarrassing, both to Dell and to the image of the Android brand."

2011 will likely see the release of a more powerful series of smart phones thanks to a new Snapdragon chip from Qualcomm. And of course there will be another set of Apple iPhones and iPads next year, which will have their own ARM processor, most probably running at faster speeds than the 1GHz at present.

Battery Ventures, Flybridge Capital Partners and Highland Capital Partners represent the traditional venture capitalists behind Smooth-Stone. They have been joined by ARM, Texas Instruments and Advanced Technology Investment Company (ATIC).

The Medfield platform will include a power-efficient version of the Atom processor, which will be integrated inside a chip code-named Penwell, according to a document originally posted on Intel's website, which is still available on Google cache.

The OMAP4430 chip will deliver double the performance of existing single-core chips from the OMAP3 family. This will allow applications to run faster on mobile devices, said Robert Tolbert, director of product management for the OMAP smartphone business at TI.

This week RIM delivered on both these key requirements with the launch of the BlackBerry Torch 6800 - the first touchscreen "slider" BlackBerry and the first to run BlackBerry 6, the latest version of RIM's smartphone operating system.

Two Gulf states have announced bans on some functions of the Blackberry mobile phone, claiming security concerns. The United Arab Emirates is to block sending emails, accessing the internet, and delivering instant messages to other Blackberry handsets. Saudi Arabia is to prevent the use of the Blackberry to Blackberry instant messaging service.

A new study to be released in September shows that Verizon Wireless smartphone users have overtaken AT&T iPhone customers in terms of data use.

ARM, the UK's largest technology company by market value, declined to raise its full-year 2010 outlook in spite of beating market expectations with its first-half results.

The talk of a Samsung-Infineon deal surfaced in German publication Manager Magazine but neither firm would comment. Two years ago, Samsung greatly extended its purchasing of cellphone chips from Infineon, largely at the expense of Qualcomm.

Apple posted a video demonstrating the antenna issues in Nokia's smartphone. The phone drops from seven bars to two when held in a similar manner to the grip that causes problems on the iPhone 4.

The numbers paint an interesting picture. Apple now sells 92,000 iPhones a day. For comparison, 160,000 Android devices are being sold each day, 120,000 BlackBerries, 45,000 Windows Mobile devices and 260,000 Symbian handsets. Apple's market share in smartphones could now be down to 14%, from its peak of 17%, where it has been for the previous 3 quarters.

HTC and Samsung Electronics on Monday cast the latest rebukes to the assertion by Apple that the iPhone 4's reception problems are shared by other global smartphone makers.

Switching platforms is not as simple as just picking a new smartphone. Companies have entire infrastructures built around BlackBerry, and managing BlackBerry devices through the BlackBerry Enterprise Server (BES). The IT staff understands how to configure, troubleshoot, and support the BlackBerry environment. The users are comfortable with the BlackBerry culture. They are familiar with BlackBerry conventions and BlackBerry apps, and they understand how to navigate the BlackBerry interface to maximize efficiency and productivity.

To its credit, Microsoft recognized that its smartphone platform was headed down the wrong path, and it reversed course to deliver a different platform rather than continuing to build incrementally on the foundation laid by Windows Mobile.

ChangeWave conducted a survey between June 14-24 and found that 16.4% of those surveyed were planning to buy a smartphone within the next 90 days,the largest percentage increase since 14.4% planned to buy an smartphone in June 2009. And 52% of prospective buyers said they would purchase an iPhone.

Typically, device makers prep their latest and greatest smartphone weapons looking forward to a summer smartphone showdown. This summer, however, is shaping up to be more the summer of smartphone scarcity.

Smartphone use is gathering steam in the U.S., new research shows. 40% of American adults use their cell phones to surf the Web, e-mail, or use instant messaging, according to a study from Pew Research Center in Washington.

"Palm will be responsible for WebOS software development and WebOS-based hardware products, from a robust smartphone roadmap to future slate PCs and netbooks," an HP statement said.

How big of a dent has your smartphone left in the Internet? A new Nielsen survey suggests that it's bigger than you'd think, especially compared with a year ago.

Here are four reasons why we think the Kin failed: fussy Kin OS creates confusion, expensive for incomplete smartphone, no apps no games and lack of cool factor.

Samsung is bucking the predominant one-carrier-per-phone model with its Galaxy S smartphone. It will spend much of this year launching multiple versions of its new flagship smartphone around the world.

Epic 4G will also be the first smartphone to support simultaneous voice and data delivery. That means a user can surf the Internet and do other things while talking.

LG is in the process of implementing detailed strategies for smartphones in its key overseas markets and will soon launch what company officials say are "killer products".

Samsung intends to raise its market share for smartphones to more than 10% in the fourth quarter from its current level of less than 5%.

ARM is more valuable as a standalone company and a buyer would be wasting money, said company CEO Warren East. The chip designer rose last week to an eight-year high on takeover talk.

Unveils analytics software, services for managing cell towers, software for mobile devices and other efforts