iPhone News Updated

Motorola is worried about Apple’s Iphone 4

MOBILE PHONE MAKER Motorola Mobility posted a modest profit even though the firm missed its smartphone sales targets for the fourth quarter of 2010.

Motorola Mobility, the mobile phone and set-top box offshoot from Motorola, saw a slight increase in revenue for 2010 to $11.4 billion from $11 billion in 2009, overturning an operating loss of over $1.2 billion in 2009 to make a profit of $76 million.

The headline figures might sound good for Motorola - after all, wiping out a billion dollar operating loss is nothing to be scoffed at - but the firm urged caution as it expects a tough time ahead. The firm missed its fourth quarter sales targets for smartphones, which was hardly a surprise as the company seemed to disappear for the second half of 2010 while its competitors were releasing bigger and better units, but it is about to face even stronger competition.

Motorola has enjoyed a close relationship with the US mobile operator Verizon, but Sanjay Jha, CEO of Motorola Mobility, told analysts that he was concerned about the impact of Apple’s Iphone 4, which will be sold by Verizon from February. The firm predicted a net loss of between $26 to $62 million for the first quarter of 2011 and, not surprisingly, Motorola Mobility’s shares took a battering on the New York Stock Exchange, falling six per cent on the news.

However there might be some light at the end of the tunnel for Motorola. At CES, Motorola showed off its Xoom tablet, the first tablet to run Android 3.0 and the Atrix smartphone, both of which were well received by journalists.

However, since neither will arrive soon enough to make an impact on first quarter 2011 sales, Motorola is hoping that, like the original Milestone smartphone, the Xoom and Atrix will signal a resurgence for the firm.
[Thanks: http://www.theinquirer.net]

Develop for Android or iPad?

Having launched an app for the iPhone the question developers are now asking themselves is “do I go Android or iPad” - and in many cases the answer is -  “both”.

According to the Appcelerator/IDC QI Mobile Developer Report developers are increasingly taking a multi-platform approach. On average respondents said they plan to deploy apps on at least four devices - iPhone, iPad, Android Phone and Android Tablet - which is double the number recorded in 2010. On average each respondent plans to develop 6.5 apps this year, up 183% over last year.

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