Although company executives and CEOs spend most of their public speaking time discussing affairs concerning their own business and products, it's always interesting to hear what the big names have to say about rivals. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Apple CEO Tim Cook was asked whether the ongoing Mac vs. Windows PC battle was in any way similar to the the rivalry between iOS and Android. This analogy is frequently used by commentators and tech fans alike, after all, but Cook completely disagrees that the two famous rivalries are comparable, and here's why.
Although Microsoft has a nice, intuitive mobile OS and a decent selection of handsets on which to run it, Windows Phone is missing one major component - customers. As such, we've seen a number of promotional, trade-in offers over the past couple of weeks, including a free Lumia 520 / 521 for those willing to pay $100 for an Xbox Music pass. But if you're in the market for something a little more high-end, the latest offer from the software maker, which will net you a free Lumia 1020 or Lumia 1520 (albeit on contract) in exchange for an old Galaxy S2 / iPhone 4/4s, may just prove too tempting.
It's looking more and more likely that Nokia will indeed be launching an Android-based handset. Thanks to a couple of previous leaks, we already have a relatively vivid picture of the UI, which looks a lot more like Windows Phone than Google's mobile OS, and we can also have a fairly solid idea of its form factor. Now, thanks to yet another spoiler from the ever-reliable Evleaks Twitter handle, we have a list of specs for the so-called 'Nokia X,' and in line with previous reports, it's pretty standard mid-range fare.
We now have additional evidence to suggest that Samsung's recent decision to overhaul the user-interface in its PRO Galaxy Note and Galaxy Tab tablets could soon be followed up with a new look throughout. The fresh and modern magazine based design that graced the aforementioned devices definitely managed to capture the imagination of users, which can only be seen as a positive as it seems that upcoming Samsung smartphones will also benefit from a fresh lick of interface paint, as the latest leaked images show.
Nokia, once the market leader in the mobile industry, placed its faith heavily in the Windows Phone ecosystem - a decision that, at the moment, doesn't appear to have paid dividends. The Finnish company has long since created decent smartphones, but with WP struggling, the likes of Apple, Samsung and HTC have continued to dominate. Microsoft's purchase of Nokia's products and services dept. back in September seemed to indicate that Nokia and WP would continue to collaborate as an exclusive unit, however the much-rumored Nokia Android smartphone has just been leaked from a reputable source.
In this day and age, it really is a travesty that we still have to carry cables around with us. That won't always be the case though, and thankfully some of the wires in our lives are beginning to become obsolete, or at the very least they're becoming less vital than they once were.
It's always been something of a thorn in the side of people who like their Android smartphones. It's all well and good picking up a fancy new phone with (hopefully) the latest version of Android running on top of it. Often the device ships with a version of Android that is already out of date, but while with other platforms this could be easily fixed by downloading an updated version of the software, that isn't quite the case with Android.
Being able to take a smartphone and then tinker with it to the nth degree is part of the charm of the Android community. Being able to be the best looking, highest spec device on the planet and then put your own, heavily customized or completely stock version of Android onto it is the reason many people swear by Android over its iOS and Windows Phone competition. We've flashed more than our fair share of Android ROMs in our time, and we know both how much fun, and how frustrating an enterprise it can be.
Android is already known for its less than rock solid security. In fact, thanks to its open nature and the ability to side-load apps from just about anywhere it's safe to say that Android can be a veritable minefield when it comes to keeping your device safe and secure.
If there's one thing we love about Android, it's that ability to customize just about everything that those using the platform are always telling is the reason it is so popular. There's something to be said for Apple's walled garden and the amount of control it likes to have over everything, but sometimes it's just nice to be able to fiddle around with your smartphone, isn't it?
