Tag Archives: motorola

Technology

Motorola to sue Apple

Within the past two years Apple has tried to sue virtually any Android manufacturer that they saw as a threat. Apparently, competition isn’t a belief that Steve Jobs founded his multi-billion dollar behemoth of a company on.

Now, a big name has stepped up to the plate against Cupertino and this means war.  Could we use Motorola and Google interchangeably here?  Possibly.  However, Motorola is still its own entity that operates under Google.  Motorola is a wireless patent goldmine.  Although, Motorola may not own the “illustrious” slide to unlock or pinch to zoom, let’s round up a patent that they believe Apple is infringing upon. For example, Apple devices can sync data between themselves, such as bookmarks, messages, and more. Motorola is big on wireless technologies — not shapes and looks. These are standards that have been set across an industry. Some can even argue that they actually matter more.

I sure do.

Bottom line:. Motorola suing Apple sounds like the perfect idea for a company that wants to sue everyone else out of the marketplace. I call it their just desserts.

Mobile Operating Systems, Operating Systems, Software, Technology

Specs; do they still matter in 2012?

Single core processors, dual-core, quad-core, six-core…retina display, HD display, polished aluminum — all of these specifications and more are the things that entice us gadget lovers to lose our minds and buy; yet again.  Yet in recent years most tablets, PCs, and other electronic devices work decently as they should and the question, “Do specs still matter?” still comes to mind.  For example, the Asus Transformer Prime is a quad-core lightning fast Ice-Cream Sandwich running monster of a tablet; yet does it have to be quad-core for it to run as it should?  Or are we just being sold on specs and the dream that it might run a litter faster?

Personally, I am a fan of Android; however, when it comes to seamless integration of an OS and the hardware Apple has it down to an art form.  Why?  Simple, the OS is tailored for the hardware, so that user experience is almost second to none.  On the other hand, and Android OEM must take stock Android and tailor it to fit their needs and this could potentially cause inconsistencies across the market.  So, what do hardware manufacturers do?  They beef up the spec sheet.  This could almost be sort of a fail-safe — think about it.  If the software isn’t exactly what it should be — the superior hardware of the tablet will make up for it.  Is this a good assumption?  I think so.

Bottom line:  The year is 2012; almost everything that reputable hardware manufacturers such as Samsung, Apple, Motorola, LG, and more release is an actual decent product.  In addition, if you use it the way it was intended to be used, the product should continue to run smoothly for some time.  There will continue to be some differences between iOS and Android as they continue to grow — important notes about Android devices are that they mirror the PC more because the OS is built for true multitasking — this is why they need to be more powerful than the Apple counterparts.

Choose whichever side meets your needs; although there must be power in these devices for a reason.

Mobile Operating Systems, Technology

Attack of the skins; are custom UIs hurting Android?

Motorola, Samsung, LG, HTC, Huawei, and more apply their own custom user-interfaces atop of the Android operating system.  However, the question that should be asked is what is so wrong with the operating system that makes that custom UI useful?  Launchers and other interfaces that can be put on top of stock Android can potentially slow down and make for an unstable experience.  This is one reason that many users avoid Android is because it looks so different across the manufacturers that Google allows to use it.  With the advent of Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich)  Google has told manufacturers that they must keep the original coding their to ensure that apps work properly so end-users (you, the customer) do not suffer in the end.

As a Samsung Galaxy Nexus owner, I have become more and more of an Android purist and these themes and customizations appear more useless and cluttering everyday.  The user should decide what their phone looks like and has on it, including the pre-installed bloatware that manufacturers love to put on devices in order to get you to spend money.

Bottom line:  Pay close attention to Android devices that are released and you will deem this as an issue to.  Simple is best, Android is about customization; but it is best left up to the user.

Technology

Google’s Motorola acquisition approved by U.S. DoJ

The United States Department of Justice has approved the deal between Google and Motorola.  The only countries left to approve the deal are China, Taiwan, and Israel.  Once this deal is approved by all parties Google will access to a plethora or mobile patents making it a viable player in this patent war that Apple started.  Apple has been trying to sue Google’s Android out of the marketplace since that seems to be they only option they have at this point.  However, having all of these patents, Google will be able to fight back.

Bottom line:  When it is all said and done, the mobile marketplace is about innovation; just because you try to sue one company away will NOT force anyone to use your products.  This acquisition will firmly put Google at the top of it’s game.