We all know that Samsung and Apple are two of the heaviest heavyweights when it comes to smartphones, and any time we're hearing about profits or market share, they're going to be leading the pack. Still, do we appreciate just how large they've gotten, and how quickly their sales have risen? It can be easy to get swept-up in the here and now of sales data, but taking a look back on how all the big smartphone companies have been performing over the past several years can offer us some new insight into the scale of Apple and Samsung's success. The chart above comes from revenue data from ...

We've already compared the ASUS Fonepad to its almost twin, the no-earpiece Google Nexus 7, and today we're taking a close look at the same tablet, this time, against Apple's latest and greatest small-sized iPad. The iPad mini is a tablet many have thought would never see the light of day, not from Apple. Still, it's here for quite some time now and it brings the premium build to the sub-ten-inch form factor. Specs are modest though, from the low-resolution screen to the A5 chip from the iPad 2 days. It manages to offer decent performance and at all times fluid user experience. The Fonepad ...

It's sounding likely that this year's WWDC could bring news, not of any number of new iPhone or iPad designs, but of iOS 7. With Jonathan Ive leading the charge for what's been called a new "flat design," this could really be quite the shake-up for the platform. As we wait for confirmation of the release, some new rumors and comments continue to paint the picture of some major changes for the platform. This talk of a "flat" look has centered on doing away with some of the cutesy skeuomorphisms that pervade the OS. But just how plain-looking could this refresh take things? Well, Windows ...

For over a month now, we've been seeing signs that Google Now was getting ready to spread beyond the realm of Jelly Bean Androids and make an appearance on iOS. After all, we saw what appeared to be a legitimate introduction video for just such an iOS edition. Following that, though, there was a period of confusion, with some comments from Eric Schmidt first making it sound like the app was done and just waiting on Apple's approval, only to have Apple deny that any such thing had occurred. Well, maybe Schmidt simply spoke too soon, as today the Google Search app for iOS has been updated to ...

I've been using Windows since the 3.1 days. Back then my desktop computer cost thousands of dollars. To convince my dad to make the purchase I had to promise that I'd somehow make it last through college -- I wasn't even out of Junior High School at the time. Before you laugh, that was back in the day when such a claim could actually be pulled off. Home computers were generally of the "desktop" variety back then -- they sat on your desk and your huge CRT monitor sat on top of them. A few years later my friend's dad showed me a "luggable" computer. It was essentially a desktop computer with ...

With a new iPhone, a new iPad, and the debut of the iPad mini, Apple pretty much refreshed its whole mobile iOS product lineup last fall. While that normally might have us thinking that we'd have another full year to wait before getting word of new products, Apple had already exhibited signs of wanting to speed up device cycles, dropping two brand new iPads just a matter of months apart. This year, rumors have similarly looked to the idea of Apple announcing new iOS devices sooner rather than later, but so far nothing like that's come to pass. With summer just around the corner, we've ...

We find ourselves living in a great age of mobile electronics and technology. Choices abound in terms of devices, operating systems, apps, you name it. There is so much choice available to us as mobile consumers that is boggles the mind. You think to yourselves just ten years ago, give or take, smartphones were nothing more than a twinkle in a blackberry’s eye. And I have to ask myself, “are we better off?” I’m a Ted-head. A Tedder. A Teddite. I’m not even sure there is a name for people like me, but what I’m getting at here is that I enjoy the website ted.com. Their tag line, ...

iOS is getting boring. Yes, it's simplistic. Yes, the design is clean. Almost anyone can pick up an iPhone or iPad and immediately know how to use it. Therein lies the largest strength -- and the most notable weakness in Apple's mobile operating system. Android, on the other hand, comes in almost limitless packages with a different look and feel from every manufacturer -- and if you don't like it you can swap out that look for another as easily as installing an app. That flexibility, however, comes with a significant learning curve whenever you switch devices, or are asked to use someone ...