State Of The Android, Q1 2012

27.2.12 The Reporter 0 Comments

The second month of 2012 is ending and you're probably wondering where the Android is headed. These are exciting times, as Apple is still maintaining its dictatorial stance, while the Android is still moving forward, with fast turnarounds for upgrades in the core OS.

Fast upgrades have been the mark of Linux distributions, namely Ubuntu Linux. Seemingly, Android is adopting that as its own upgrade paradigm. Barely has the Ice Cream Sandwich been implemented, that it is now rumored to release the Android 5.0 OS, Jellybean, reportedly in Q2 2012. That's something to look forward to.

In other news, HTC seems to be moving towards making their Androids the ONE-stop device with the HTC One line of Smartphones.

Rebranding the whole lineup to fall under HTC ONE, HTC is working towards great audio, a great camera, on top of a great OS, the Android.

After partnering with Beats Electronics LLC for the Beats-branded line of HTC phones, HTC is now moving to create phone camera technology which will rival or even supplant a point and shoot camera. A wise, strategic move, given that HTC CEO Peter Chou pointed out that next to making calls, one of the most-used functions for the smartphone is as a digital camera. More than that, HTC is looking to add juicier innovations.

Is HTC veering away from the iPhone copycat bandwagon the whole smartphone market seems to be getting onto, just as the guys at TechCrunch are saying? Or are they really just looking to corner the market by finding a way to make their phones stand out, and stand out really well?

Another big development for the Android industry is the rush towards Quad Core. No longer content with Gigahertz-fast DUAL Cores, now, Androids are going to be shipped with QUAD Cores. What's better than killing dem pigs in Angry Birds at lightning-fast speeds, ey?

More than any of these developments, do you guys realize that it's the MWC?

What's that?

It's the Mobile World Congress, the major gathering of mobile service providers and gadget makers. It is the equivalent of CES or WWDC for GSM/Mobile Telphony.

This year's 2012 MWC is held in Barcelona Spain, and will be held in Barcelona up until 2018.

All this mad rush about Android developments are currently going down at the MWC: From HTC's newest innovations, up to the Quad Core craze, and even for Samsung Galaxy SIII's no-show and Windows 8's unveiling. expect that we're going to give you updates and newsbites from the MWC from today up to March 1.

Enjoy the rest of Monday!