While Android is winning the overall market share of smartphone OS, a study by mobile ad network Jumptap breaks down state by state where Google’s mobile platform remains king. READ MORE
On Wednesday T-Mobile launched new Small Business Value Rate Plans, including one for $45 a month per line for unlimited talk, text and data, with the first 5 GB doled out on full speed. That offer expires November 1, requires a two-year contract and business federal tax ID number, and has a limit of 99 voice lines per account. The company, which says it is strengthening its support for small business, is also refreshing its small business web site and rolling out dedicated in-store merchandising and customer support for small business customers in retail stores nationwide. READ MORE
Yesterday, in a post on Google’s main blog, Google’s SVP and chief legal counsel David Drummond accused Apple and Microsoft of waging an anti-competitive campaign against Android to keep Google from getting access to key patents. READ MORE
Over the next few months, Verizon Wireless will begin integrating American Express‘ commerce platform, Serve, into its phones and tablets to let customers order products through their devices. READ MORE
After coming off of a tough split with Google over toolbar inclusion on Firefox, browser developer Mozilla aims to make the former ally a true competitor with their announcement of their first mobile OS. The new project, named “Gecko,” is drawing plenty of comparisons to the Chrome OS, which is coming out currently on netbooks. Gecko is an open-source project aiming to create a stronger basis for in-browser applications to be run natively on mobile devices, with the ultimate goal to expand into the greater desktop market. READ MORE
A U.S. International Trade Commission judge issued an initial ruling that HTC violated two key patents owned by Apple, a move that dragged HTC’s stock to a six-month low in Taiwan trading and raised uncertainty about the company, writes Roger Cheng for CNET. In response, Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt says his company will support its key Android partner in its patent fight with Apple. READ MORE
The applications platform market is often a game of Tug of War. And Apple is pulling developers toward the iOS platform—and away from Android—really hard. According to a report from Flurry Analytics, Android project starts for the second quarter of 2011 account for just 28 percent of the market, down from 36 percent in the first quarter of this year. Apple iPhone/iPod touch project starts now account for 57 percent and iPad project starts have risen from 10 percent in the first quarter to 15 percent. READ MORE
Gamers using the Xbox and Games for Windows platforms are already familiar with Microsoft Points (aka Xbox points), a virtual currency used for in-game microtransactions. An upcoming game for Windows Phone called Birds & Beaks, developed internally by Microsoft Game Studios, now brings the in-application purchases into the Windows Phone universe–though given current trends, it could lead to a legal challenge. READ MORE
In an effort to prioritize product efforts, Google will be slowly shutting down Google Labs — home to such experimental projects as Google Body, Swiffy, and Docs and Spreadsheets. READ MORE
While it’s nothing akin to a death knell, last Friday’s preliminary ruling by the International Trade Commission (ITC) against HTC in yet another patent infringement case brought by Apple, is having serious reverberations in the tech industry. The ITC ruled last Friday that HTC has infringed on two Apple patents. READ MORE
