Android, iOS Surging While BlackBerry and Windows Slide

No surprises here. Android continues to extend its lead as America’s most popular smartphone operating system.
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U.S. Steps Up Probe of Nortel Patent Deal

The Justice Department is intensifying an investigation into whether tech giants including Apple, Microsoft and Research in Motion could use a recently acquired trove of patents to unfairly hobble competing smartphones using Google’s Android software.

Steve Ballmer’s Dr. Hyde and Mr. Jekyll

Whenever I know Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer is going to speak at a major public event, I get two feelings at once: Excited anticipation that the chances are high that he’ll say something controversial and dread that the chances are high he will say something, well, controversial.
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Microsoft Smiles, Shrugs as Hackers Wangle Mango Onto Old WinMo Gear

Although Microsoft has no plans for a commercial upgrade allowing older Windows Mobile 6.5 devices to move to the Mango release of Windows Phone, the company is taking a laissez-faire attitude toward the developers who have managed to cram the new release onto an older HTC phone.
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Swype Grabs More Funding, Looks to Trace Path Into New Areas

Swype, best known for its fast means of entering text on a smartphone, is also proving adept at raising cash. The Seattle-based shop has landed $3.5 million from Ignition Partners and expects to sign several other deals in the coming weeks, CEO Mike McSherry told Mobilized.

Exclusive: Motorola Mobility to Acquire Ex-Googlers’ Stealthy Android-for-the-Enterprise Start-Up

Motorola Mobility has snapped up 3LM, a tiny 10-person Mountain View start-up that aims to make Android a more secure platform for businesses.

Google Tweet-Bashes Nokia Again, but Will Elop Get the Last #Laugh?

This time it’s Tim Bray casting stones in a since-deleted tweet. However, the real problem for Nokia and Microsoft isn’t Google’s words. It’s Android and its growing share of the smartphone market.

NPD: Windows Phone 7 Off to a Slow Start, While Android Continues to Gain

The market researcher said Microsoft’s operating system, which hit the market in the middle of the quarter, accounted for just two percent of consumer smartphone sales in the U.S. That’s not only less than the market leaders–it’s even less than Microsoft’s older Windows Mobile operating system. It’s also less than either Android or Palm’s webOS had in their debuts.

Sprint Expands $10 Data Surcharge to All Smartphones

Starting Jan. 30, Sprint plans to charge all new Android, BlackBerry, Instinct, Palm and Windows Mobile data customers the extra fee. The charge had previously applied only to the carrier’s 4G phones, such as the Evo and Epic.

Lookout: Mobile Security Picks Up Funding Steam

Wireless security specialist Lookout Mobile Security has returned to the funding well, scooping up $19.5 million in Series C funding. As part of the latest round, Index Ventures is adding its name to the roster of backers, with partner Mike Volpi joining Lookout’s board.

Windows Phone 7: It’s Now or Never

Android: Take Me to Your Market Leader

Android Army Gaining Ground