Google is launching a digital music service, and is finding a interest at record companies that want to loosen Apple control on the music market via iTunes. Google plans to offer a variety of services through the Android operating system as well as through browsers.

With Google, the idea is to lessen their dependence on Apple. “Google has smart people, and they recognize record companies need to be more than just suppliers. The attitude that you bring to the table is clearly the first step

Source: LA Times

Have a look at the video to get an idea why it is better then the IPhone.

Here are seven ways in which Android 2.2 is superior to the iPhone.

Link:  Seven reasons Android 2.2 Froyo beats the iPhone

Source: Computer World

Some of the key points from the Patent

The content received at the device is displayed on the device only while the device is at or near a particular location identified by the location information.

…when the mobile device is within a range of the wireless access point, presenting content on the mobile device associated with the URL; andupon user selection of the content, receiving an application for execution on the mobile device. (sounds like localized iAds to me)

…a user interface operable to present the received content on the device when the device is at or near a location identified by the location information.

The system of claim 24, wherein the content comprises video content, picture content, audio content, multimedia content or routing content associated with a geographical area within a proximate distance to the device based on the location information.

Source:  TechCrunch

Source: TechCrunch

The free application lets consumers search for step-by-step cleaning instructions from the experts at Tide and other iPhone users to get answers before stains have a chance to set in. For those iPhone users who have a secret recipe for removing tough stains, Tide Stain Brain lets them instantly share their own tips and tricks within the application.

Source : Stain Brain

Read through the press releases I’ve linked to here and you’ll see that beta versions of Flash Player 10.1 are on track for release by the end of the year for the Windows Mobile and Palm webOS operating systems. Versions that will work with Symbian and Android are expected early in 2010, with BlackBerry likely to follow soon afterwards now that Research In Motion joined Adobe’s Open Screen Project at the weekend.

The aim of this initiative is to create a common media platform for mobile phones, computers and TVs, which should facilitate interoperability but, most importantly, should significantly cut development time for rich media content and applications thanks to the use of a single standard. There are now almost 50 companies involved in the project, up from 16 at its inception last year.

In turn, it will become quicker and, therefore, more cost-effective to develop a broader range of applications and content for the mobile environment – such as social networking, gaming, video and music, advertising, and location-based services, to name but a few.

Although some incompatibility hurdles will remain – particularly the issue of screen sizes and processor capacities which vary from one device to another – Juniper Research welcomes this exciting development, which will go a long way towards encouraging the usage and consumption of rich media services and, by default, should then encourage more consumers to take up smartphones.

A Juniper report published earlier this year found that around 13% of all mobile phones shipped in 2008 were smartphones. We believe that such devices will account for an increased percentage of shipments this year, despite the recession, to almost 16% of the total. By 2014, smartphones will account for more than a quarter of all new phones sold.

There is one key industry player that has yet to participate in the project, however. Apple has, so far, declined to involve itself in the project (perhaps preferring to time any such announcement for a moment that best suits its own marketing and publicity machine: its quarterly results are due on October 19th!), but with RIM – its main rival in the smartphone arena – now having signed up, it does seem inevitable.

The industry’s warm welcome to Adobe’s news also chimes with another finding in our smartphone report: the hardware race is over and, going forward, innovation and development is mostly being focused on advancing software that underpins the performance of these devices. And, as we’ve seen in our recent report on Operating Systems, increased use of ‘open’ platforms with common functionality will help keep development costs – and therefore overall handset and service costs – down.

In a research report published Thursday, Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi estimates the App Store currently generates between $60 million and $110 million in quarterly revenue for Apple–a tiny fraction of the computing giant’s total Q3 revenues of $8.34 billion. Sacconaghi believes the App Store contributes between two cents and four cents a share in profit to Apple a quarter–minus the 30 percent cut Apple takes on App Store downloads, the analyst estimates that iPhone software developers currently generate between $140 million and $250 million a quarter.

Read more: Fierce Content

Maktoob Dictionary is a text translation app from English to Arabic and vice versa, it has around 160,000 Arabic and English words and phrases and enables you to bookmark words.

Source : ArabCrunch

The overwhelming success of Apple’s App Store–1.5 billion downloads in the virtual storefront’s first year alone–has nurtured a mobile environment where it does indeed seem that there is an application for any situation or context, no matter how uncommon or absurd.

FierceMobileContent’s fourth annual Top Mobile Applications Awards honor apps designed for the long haul–apps that simplify your life, not once but on a recurring basis. These are applications that promise to improve the average day of the average user, pinpointing tasks that are woven into the fabric of modern life–for example, navigating the morning commute, finding a place to eat lunch or more effectively communicating with contacts and colleagues.

These year’s top Mobile Applications are:

1. Aha

If the daily commute is driving you crazy, try Aha, a free application that connects iPhone users from across major U.S. cities including Los Angeles, Dallas, Seattle and Washington, D.C., to share real-time information on traffic conditions.

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2. MotionX GPS

MotionX GPS puts the whole world in your hand. A premium location app optimized for the iPhone 3GS, complete with accelerometric-assisted GPS for improved accuracy, it indicates and tracks the user’s position wherever they go–not just on street maps, but also topographic and satellite maps, which explains why the software is so popular with runners, hikers, skiers and boaters (over 1.5 million downloads so far).

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3. Put Things Off

There are dozens of task management applications available for the iPhone, but what separates Put Things Off is that it expressly targets procrastinators. (And let’s face it–if you’re not already actively using this kind of app, that’s exactly what you are.) A simple, efficient tool for creating notes and lists, Put Things Off (available for $2.99) encourages users to focus on what’s important each day and “put off stuff that’s not”–its touch-based filing system incorporates a series of virtual trays that separate tasks according to priority level, with completed chores disappearing in a puff of smoke. And after three days, the “auto-nag” feature moves tasks you’ve put off back to the Today tray.

A free local discovery application optimized for Android and powered by a learning engine dubbed GENIE–i.e., Geodelic ENgine for Interest Evaluation–Sherpa promises a customized user experience that improves each time you use it, recommending retailers, restaurants and attractions as it begins to understand your likes, dislikes and behavioral patterns.

Click here to view the embedded video.

5. Snac

The Snac Dashboard offers live, interactive icons (a.k.a. “Snacs”) from a series of categories including News, Sports, Communications and Search, as well as lists of Top Rated and Featured widgets–users browse, add and customize the widgets they want, and regardless of whether the icons provide access to social media, headlines or any other mobile web content, Snac makes sure the information is kept refreshed and up-to-date. Pre-caching solves concerns over snail-paced browsers and associated data costs, and unlike rival aggregator apps optimized for specific carriers or software platforms, the free app supports more than 300 devices across all operator networks, meaning almost everyone can chew on this Snac.

Click here to view the embedded video.

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6 3deep
7 Vlingo
8 WeatherBug Elite
9 Wertago
10 Zagat to Go ’09

Source: Fierce Mobile Content

Its features include:

* 1st note-taking app with TRUE PAN AND ZOOM
* FIVE different pen colors
* Variable pen and eraser sizes
* The ability to save your works as photo images
* Multiple napkin backdrop sizes and designs
* You can send your napkins directly to Facebook using Facebook Connect!

Source: justanotherphoneblog.com