Android users ‘data hungry’ on their handsets

A new report has shown users of mobiles based on Google’s Android operating system use the most data.

Android users are the most “data hungry” of all the smartphone owners, according to a new report.

The study by telecoms specialists Ariesocompared the data usage of what it deemed “newer smartphones,” including the BlackBerry Bold 9700, the Google Nexus One, the HTC Desire, the Sony Ericsson Xperia and the Apple iPhone 4, against its chosen control device, the iPhone3G.

Users of the handsets based on Google’s Android mobile OS were found to have higher data call volumes, longer times connected to the network and more data volume, both uploaded and downloaded.

Specific figures from the report backed up the overall findings. Samsung Galaxy users where shown to upload 126 per cent more data than iPhone3G users, and HTC Desire users were shown to download 41 per cent more data.

“Mobile operators are playing ‘Guess Who?’ with their subscribers,” said Michael Flanagan, chief technology officer (CTO) of Arieso. “The variations in data use between various devices highlight the pressing need for a more accurate, in-depth and intelligent view into the potential impact of individual handset users on the network.”

“Right now, operators struggle to see their network as their customers see it, especially regarding performance and quality of service within individual buildings. They are risking rising operational costs, and delivering a sub-par quality of service to customers. They must adopt a new, more precise approach to monitoring and optimising their networks.”

Google doodles now on Mobiles!

Google has announced that the world famous doodles which everybody loves can now be viewed on mobile devices (iOS 3+ and Android 2.0+).

Now whenever there is a doodle shown on the desktop site, it can also be viewed within the mobile browser.

Don’t know what special day it is go to google.com on your mobile!

Apple hits back at Motorola with multitouch patent suit

The patent battle between Apple and Android vendors is hotting up, with a new lawsuit from Apple alleging that Mororola has infringed its intellectual property with its touch-screen phones, including the Droid line.

First reported by Patently Apple, the two lawsuits claim that Motorola has infringed six different patents relating to some of its most important technologies.

The multitouch and user interface patents, Apple says, are infringed by Motorola's Droid, Droid 2, Droid X, Cliq, Cliq XT, BackFlip, Devour A555, Devour i1, and Charm phones.Apple wants the phones to be pulled from the shelves, and wants unspecified damages along with legal fees.

The move follows a patent suit from Motorola a month ago, claiming that Apple had infringed 18 of its patents, covering wireless and other technologies. It went on to claim that Apple's multitouch patents were invalid, and asked a federal judge to throw them out.

The current crop of disputed patents aren't the same ones, which Apple also sued HTC over earlier this year.

They are as follows:

US Patent No. 7,812,828 - "Elipse fitting for multi-touch surfaces"
US Patent No. 7,663,607 - "Multipoint touchscreen"
US Patent No. 5,379,430 - "Object-oriented system locator system"
US Patent No. 7,479,949 - "Touch screen device, method, and graphical user interface for determining commands by applying heuristics"
US Patent No. 6,493,002 - "Method and apparatus for displaying and accessing control and status information in a computer system"
US Patent No. 5,838,315 - "Support for custom user-interaction elements in a graphical, event-driven computer system"

The odds are, of course, that the battle will end as it generally does with the two companies coming to some sort of agreement over licensing. Indeed, it appears that the current legal jamboree arises from the breakdown of licensing talks between the two companies earlier this year.