Could Google's OS beat Apple's iPhone?

Android vs. iOS

Google's Android operating system Aspire 5100 Battery become more popular than Apple's iPhone by 2012, according to a forecast today from tech researcher iSuppli.

The El Segundo company expects 75 million smartphone owners will have Android phones in 2012, for a 19.4 percent global market share. By contrast, the operating system's 5 million phones accounted for 2.7 percent of the market last year.

"Apple A1175 Battery is taking the smartphone market by storm," Tina Teng, iSuppli's senior analyst for wireless communications, said in an e-mail. "The OS started

with entry-level models in 2008, but the flexibility Android offers for Aspire 5050 Battery designs and its appealing business model in terms of revenue sharing have attracted vigorous support from all nodes in the value chain, including makers of high-end smartphone models.

As for the iPhone, 25 million phones with Apple's operating system accounted for 13.8 percent of the market last year; in 2012, iSuppli expects consumers will own 62 million iPhones and other iOS devices, for a 15.9 percent market share.

"While Lifebook T4215 Battery is trying hard to capture market share in the smartphone market, Apple's strategy is aimed at making its products highly desirable but not necessarily affordable for the mass market," Jagdish Rebello, iSuppli's senior

director and principal analyst, said in the e-mail. "Apple has been PA3399U-1BAS Battery in doing this with its friendly user interface, its slick OS and its well-developed ecosystem of apps and content providers."

The iSuppli report echoes comments from other researchers this week that found the Android army gaining on its smartphone rivals.

Yesterday, researcher NPD Group said Android phones led the market in the second quarter. According to NPD, 33 percent of all smartphones bought in the

More Apple coverage

Apple to fix security hole in iPhone software

Survey suggests Lifebook T4010 Battery outperforms earlier model

Some Apple devices have security problem, Germany warns

Google's Android OS closer to overtaking BlackBerry in popularity

Apple, Amazon block Toshiba PA3399U-1BAS Battery, Conn. AG contends

Biz Break: Android vs. iPhone: Google's OS surges ahead of Apple's

U.S. were Android phones, followed by Research In Motion's BlackBerry platform at 28 percent and Apple's iPhone at 22 percent.

On Monday, Compaq NX7300 Battery reported 27 percent of recent smartphone buyers in the U.S. (defined as those who bought a device in the past six months) chose an Android phone vs. 23 percent who bought an iPhone.

Top tech headlines

Google: The California Supreme Court has ruled that an age-discrimination lawsuit can proceed against the Mountain View Internet juggernaut.

According to a Merc report, the court agreed with a lower court's Thinkpad T400 Battery that Brian Reid had presented enough evidence for the case to proceed. Reid joined Google in 2002, but was fired two years later at age 54. A Google spokesman told the Merc that age wasn't a factor in Reid's dismissal.

Adobe Systems: The San Jose maker of graphic design and Internet software will build a new campus in Utah in an expansion that could create as many as 1,000 new jobs in the state over the next two decades.

IBM Thinkpad R60 Battery, announced today by Utah Gov. Gary Herbert, follows Adobe's $1.8 billion purchase last year of Web analytics provider Omniture, which was based in Orem, Utah.

Movies to mobile devices

Sonic Solutions and Widevine, a Seattle tech company Apple A1185 Battery San Jose network-equipment giant Cisco Systems and other investors, are working on a platform that will let retailers stream movies to mobile devices such as Android and BlackBerry phones and Apple's iPad and iPhone.

The service -- which will combine Novato-based Sonic's RoxioNow online video streaming platform with Widevine's digital rights management and video technology -- is expected to be ready for retailers by the holiday season. According to Bloomberg News, retailers such as Sears and Best Buy plan to use the technology.

Chip maker's solar array

San Jose chip maker Power Integrations has installed a Thinkpad T61 Battery, 600-kilowatt solar array that will provide energy for one of two buildings at the company's headquarters.

The 44,448-square-foot installation covers 280 parking spaces at the company's Hellyer Avenue headquarters in southeast San Jose.

"We are very proud of this project, which effectively takes an entire building off the grid, and will reduce our energy bills enough to pay for itself in just 12 years," Power Integrations CEO Balu Balakrishnan said in a news release.