Electronics, Android | featured news

For the first time, more Americans say they are using cellphones powered by Google Inc.'s Android system than Apple Inc.'s iPhone, according to a new survey from comScore.

The first portable devices announced for Verizon Wireless' new, high-speed wireless data network are a smart phone and a tablet from Motorola, both designed to take advantage of network's speed with cameras for videoconferencing....

While Android surges among new smartphone buyers, Apple iOS continues to hold on to the overall marketshare lead, though still within spitting distance of a fading BlackBerry OS and a hard-charging Android OS, according to the latest figures from the Nielsen Company.

If you've held off on buying a fancy new phone this year, you should cop one of these.

We check out the first phone running Android 2.3. Google's latest flagship cell phone is going to be a top holiday gift for cutting-edge geeks. Fast, smooth and elegant, the Nexus S is the new top Android phone, the first "Gingerbread" phone, and it'll be the first one to receive new updates to Android as they come out. That's going to be worth $199 (with T-Mobile contract) to quite a few people.

Google Mobile Platform VP Andy Rubin literally arrived with a bag full of tricks at the D: Get Into Mobile Conference, showing publicly for the very first time an Android "Honeycomb" tablet. The roughly 10-inch, Motorola device was sleek, black, thin and sported an Android interface unlike any we've seen before. There was a very clean homepage, but the app page looked almost Apple iPad-like. Plus, when Rubin brought up the Gmail app, it looked almost exactly like Gmail on the iPad.

Customers interested in Samsung's Android-based Galaxy Tab can now purchase one from Verizon Wireless for $600.

When it comes to tech rivalries, everyone loves a good smackdown -- but the race for smartphone dominance is starting to feel like a blowout sporting event where there's almost no point in watching.