Microsoft Earns More From Android Than It Does From Windows Phone

Now here's an interesting find ... apparently Microsoft makes more money from Android than it does from Windows Phone. This rather odd arrangement, according to Citi analyst Walter Pritchard, came about due to Microsoft's lawsuit against HTC last year. The settlement saw HTC agreeing to pay Microsoft $5 for every Android handset they shipped. With HTC having shipped some 30 million devices that's a total of $150 million heading Microsoft's way.


Compare this with the 2 million Windows Phone licenses Microsoft has sold, which are estimated to cost around $15 a pop. That's $30 million, a lot of money sure, but far from the figure received from HTC.


Microsoft are also suing other Android device manufacturers and with a precedent already set by HTC Microsoft are in with a good chance of getting similar deals from them too. That should see Microsoft's earnings from Android increase even further.

Android Not The Place To Do Business For Paid Apps

A long standing assessment of the state of the various app stores has had it that the Android Market is not the place to do business if you have a paid app when compared with the Apple App Store. For example, some 80% or so of paid Android app have been downloaded fewer than 100 times. Android Community gives another example:


In the competitive gaming segment, only five titles in the Android Market have been downloaded more than 250,000 worldwide. In contrast, ten iPhone games in the App Store were downloaded in excess of 250,000 times in the US in the past two months alone.


There are various reasons why this is the case, not the least of which is the almost slapdash approach Android took to paid apps when it first launched. Different apps were billed in different currencies, for example, and there was no real uniform method of payment. Rather customers used a hodge podge of credit cards, network billing and other means.



A unified payment system, as Apple has through its iTunes system, would go a long way to helping devs see their paid apps gain more traction on Android.

GE - Solar energy will become cheaper than nuclear and fossil fuel

GE is focusing on thin film solar panels to lower cost and improve efficiency (now at 12.8 percent). It is planning to build the largest manufacturing plant in the U.S. Credit: GE

General Electric is forecasting that solar power could soon be a more affordable than fossil fuels and nuclear power, the company’s global research director told Bloomberg.

Bloomberg published its interview with Mark M. Little, the global research director for GE, today. Little said that new technology breakthroughs are making it possible for solar generated electricity to be the most economical choice within the next three to five years.

The sweet spot for solar power to break into residential market is 15 cents a kilowatt-hour or lower, he stated. Bloomberg noted its research that the cost of solar cells has dropped 21 percent since the beginning of this year. Hit read more for details.

Nokia Says Devs Will Develop For Win Phone 7

The smartphone world is awash with app stores and to keep those stores stocked with content those platforms rely upon developers to spend their time coming up with new and exciting apps. Do devs have enough time and resources to devote to all these different platforms though? That was the question posed to Nokia CEO Stephen Elop with regards to Windows Phone 7.

One dev posed the question of whether Windows Phone 7 could realistically grab enough dev time with the likes of Android and iOS dominating the scene. Elop responded:

When we consider developers, there is a series of things that must be true. You have to have reach, you have to believe you can monetise, you have to believe you have a valid developer platform, and finally you have to great developer tools.We’ve actually studied this and asked a lot of developers all over the world, and, while it's not the consensus, by far the majority view is that [the number of operating systems they develop for] is about 2.8 – 3 platforms. This was a critical question for us.So the statistics, according to Elop, show that devs are perfectly willing to develop for multiple platforms and that three platforms is something of a 'sweet' number for them in terms of what they are prepared to take on. Interestingly Elop went on to suggest that if the research had shown devs weren't willing to develop for Windows Phone 7 in addition to Android and iOS then that would have had an impact upon Nokia's decision to partner with Microsoft. The implication being that an Android partnership could then have been on the cards.

Apple's helping behaviour during the Jpanaese earthquake

Here is a very interesting article I found on the increasingly corporate responsibility measures being taken by prominent companies. On this occasion it is the actions taken by Apple during the Japaneses earthquake. Hit read more for the commendable article.

Motorola Droid X2 official at $200: launching online May 19th, in stores May 26th

Motorola and Verizon have finally stopped teasing us and have made the Droid X2 official. This is a 4.3-inch Android (2.2, to be upgraded to 2.3) smartphone with a qHD screen resolution and a dual-core 1GHz processor. An 8 megapixel camera with continuous autofocus and HD video recording graces the back. The X2 will cost the usual $200 on contract and will be available to buy online tomorrow, May 19th, before making its way out to stores a week later, on May 26th. Leap past the break for the full PR.

Interestingly, we've also spotted the close proximity of the USB and HDMI ports on the side of the new X2. That arrangement is reminiscent of the one on Motorola's Atrix, where the two connectors served to hook that handset up to its laptop and multimedia docks. We don't know whether the Droid X2 will fit into the accessories designed for the Atrix, but it looks sure to be strapping itself into a dock of some description in the near future.

Update: NVIDIA has confirmed that its Tegra 2 chip is the heretofore unnamed 1GHz dual-core chip inside the Droid X2, which just happens to be Verizon's first dual-core smartphone.

Update 2: A little birdie tells us you may be able to pick up this bad boy in person in some stores as soon as tomorrow (May 19th). Your mileage may vary, but let us know in the comments if you manage to buy one.

Update 3: Sure enough, they're on shelves. Matt sent us a pic, which is after the break.

Samsung spices up the USB 3.0 hard drive party with three new models

It's not the first time that Samsung's pimped up their hard drives with some USB 3.0 goodness, but come April, the Korean giant will be delivering three new product lines that are yet to be named. The first one is a basic portable model that goes up to 1TB, and comes encased in a smudge-resistant matte housing with a choice of four colors. The next one up is simply a premium version of the portable drive that not only looks prettier (as pictured above), but also beefed up with auto backup software and 256-bit Full Disk Encryption. A USB dock will be available for both portable lines.

Last but not least, those looking for more storage space (and presumably faster spinning speeds) can turn to the desktop version, which will be available in three flavors: 1TB, 1.5TB, and 2TB. Press release after the break.

Samsung develops DDR4 memory with up to 40 percent better energy efficiency than DDR3

Samsung's famed lead in component manufacturing is being extended today with the announcement of a DDR4 DRAM stick that can perform read and write operations using up to 40 percent less power than the old/current DDR3 stuff. Bandwidth maxes out at 2.13Gbps at 1.2V, while Pseudo Open Drain technology assists in minimizing the battery impact. Over time, Samsung projects the new DRAM modules will hit 4Gbps speeds. It's working away with server makers right now in order to achieveJEDEC certification, but the target market will clearly be laptops and other mobile devices, where energy-frugal memory like this would best be appreciated.

Idapt's i1 Eco universal charger keeps it lean, mean, and definitely green

You won't have a difficult time hunting down a charger these days, but hunting down a good one? Now that's a challenge. If you're looking for something that's off of the beaten path (and shamelessly fond of Ma Earth), Idapt's new i1 Eco may be precisely what the doctor ordered. It's a universal charger with two points of charger: a USB port and a tip port, the latter of which is useful for "over 4,000 gadgets" include the iPad, iPhone, PSP, your Xbox 360 controller and your GPS unit. It features an auto-off system that disables it when not in use, and a restart button kicks things back into gear when the time comes. It's slated to ship this spring, but only heaven knows for how much.

MITSUBISHI CONCEPT GLOBAL SMALL CAR

Mitsubishi has debuted a new compact concept car at March’s Geneva Motor Show. Dubbed the Mitsubishi Concept Global Small, a road-going version of the show car will be built from 2012.

Created on the philosophies of “compact”, “affordability”, and “high fuel efficiency”, the Concept Global Small took to the Geneva stage before eventually making it to production status in 2012. The production version of the concept will be built at Mitsubishi’s Thailand plant.

Despite its small footprint, Mitsubishi says the Concept Global Small offers comfortable seating for five adults. The concept is also highly maneuverable, making it ideal for congested city streets. Hit read more for details and pictures.