Android

If the summer belonged to the rollout of the Samsung Galaxy S series, the fall belongs to the LG and its Optimus line. MetroPCS has just announced its first no-contract Android smartphone, the Optimus M. Much like the iterations found on T-Mobile, Sprint, and Verizon, the MetroPCS version runs Android 2.2 and features a 3.2-inch touch screen, a 3.2-megapixel camera, Wi-Fi, messaging, and e-mail, a personal organizer, and a music player.

The Optimus M will be available at stores and online for $229 starting November 24 with no contract. MetroPCS offers a $50 monthly plan that provides … Read more

Business software maker SAP says it is working to adapt its market-leading enterprise resource management software to Research In Motion's PlayBook tablet and that mobile versions of its software will be ready to go by the gadget's launch date of early next year.

SAP Chief Information Officer Oliver Bussman told The Wall Street Journal that all of the company's ERP applications are being readied for the tablet.

"SAP is definitely supporting the RIM PlayBook," Bussman said.

That's good for RIM, which is hoping that loyalty on the part of its BlackBerry business customers will … Read more

As the first major music service to offer caching on the iPhone, Rhapsody has managed to stay quite competitive in the mobile space. And although the company lagged a bit on getting its Android app out of beta, the final product is sufficiently impressive for us to forgive its trespasses in the timing department. While it may not be as pretty as some other mobile music offerings, Rhapsody's features and performance on the Android OS should make it a top consideration for anyone interested in subscribing to an all-you-can-eat service (or all-you-can-listen-to, as the case may be).

As with … Read more

As the first major music service to offer caching on the iPhone, Rhapsody has managed to stay quite competitive in the mobile space. And although the company lagged a bit on getting its Android app out of beta, the final product is sufficiently impressive for us to forgive its trespasses in the timing department. Though it may not be as pretty as some other mobile music offerings, Rhapsody's features and performance on the Android OS should make it a top consideration for anyone interested in subscribing to an all-you-can-eat service (or all-you-can-listen-to, as the case may be).

Rhapsody for … Read more

We've already told you about Amazon Wireless' cell phone deals for the holiday shopping brouhaha, but now AT&T is getting in on the act as well. From Black Friday through Cyber Monday, the carrier will be offering a deal a day for many if its phones. Here's what you'll see.

November 26: AT&T says it will offer "some of the best prices ever" on its "most popular" touch-screen devices. At this point, we don't exactly know which handsets that includes, so we'll have to wait and see.… Read more

Well, hello, Amazon. How nice to see you and your selection of Verizon Droid smartphones for just a penny. That's a great price for any cell phone, but it's quite a steal for devices like the HTC Droid Incredible and the Motorola Droid II, Droid X, and Droid Pro. And you'll even give us a credit on the $35 activation fee? Sure, we'd have to sign a service contract and buy by November 29, but that's still a great deal.

Amazon Wireless isn't stopping with Verizon, either. For 1 cent and a contract you … Read more

Verizon tipped its hand a bit last night by inadvertently outing its next Android smartphone. A 360-degree view of the HTC Merge landed on the carrier's Web site only to be abruptly pulled.

AndroidCentral was quick enough to see the phone and capture a video of the device. The Merge, which once carried the nickname of Lexikon, should be Verizon's first sliding QWERTY world phone. Specifications include Android 2.2, an 800MHz processor, and a 3.7-inch touch screen.

Incidentally, AndroidCentral was able to get its hands on the Merge and do a full review back in early … Read more

What good is a smartphone without decent data service? Indeed, accessing the Internet and all those Web-based apps is the only reason most people even want a smartphone.

But what if your service provider starts capping your data service and charging you for how many megabytes of data you use every month? For some consumers, the thought is absolute heresy. In this week's Ask Maggie column, I try to quell one reader's concern that Verizon Wireless will abandon its unlimited data plan once the iPhone arrives.

I also advise another reader to consider an Android device other than … Read more

Android is now running neck and neck with Apple's iOS as the largest U.S. smartphone platform on the Millennial Media mobile ad network.

The number of mobile ad impressions (how often an ad appears) in the U.S. for Android jumped 8 percent in October over September, according to Millennial Media's "October Mobile Mix Report." That increase means both operating systems accounted for a 37 percent share of all impressions tracked by the ad network.

Ad requests (the number of times a mobile ad is clicked on) rose for both operating systems last month but … Read more