Chinese company Baidu is often referred to as the Google of China. The company operates the largest search engine in China… and now Baidu is getting ready to take another Google-like step. Baidu is preparing to launch a smartphne operating system called Baidu Yi. Right now the Baidu Yi experience is actually built on top of Google Android software, but future versions could be built… Read more »

The folks behind e-commerce site Alibaba have announced plans to launch an operating system called Aliyun OS designed for mobile devices including phones and tablets. The new OS will hit China by the end of the month. One of the first devices to run the operating system will be the K-Touch smartphone from device maker Tianyu. Aliyun OS is based on Android, but it’s designed… Read more »

Remember when Apple introduced the iPhone and insisted there was no need to let developers write third party apps in native code because they could just write web apps? Yeah, that didn’t work out so well and it didn’t take long for Apple to offer a software developer kit, launch an App Store, and change the face of mobile computing. But that was a few… Read more »

HP contends that one of the strengths of the webOS platform is that the company controls both the hardware and the software, allowing HP to tightly control the user experience of the TouchPad tablet and webOS phones, much the way Apple does with its iOS devices. But that doesn’t mean HP isn’t willing to license the operating system to other companies that want to use… Read more »

Say you love your iPhone or iPod touch, but you’ve always kind of wondered what it would be like to use Android instead. You could go all out and actually install Android on a jailbroken iPhone. Or you could take the easier route and simply install iAndroid, a free Android simulator available from the Cydia store. While iAndroid won’t give you the full Android experience, it does… Read more »

HP may have acquired Palm just to get its hands on the webOS operating system (does a company have hands?), but HP CEO Leo Apotheker says the company isn’t ruling out the possibility of sharing webOS with other device makers. When asked whether HP would license webOS for use on phones or other devices from competing companies, Apotheker basically said, sure, why not? Specifically, he… Read more »

As expected, the next major release of the BlackBerry operating system will be called BlackBerry 7. RIM unveiled the new OS this morning, announcing that the first two phones to run the new software will be the BlackBerry Bold 9900 and BlackBerry Bold 9930. The operating system is described as offering a faster user experience, improved browsing, and more. Here are some of the highlights:… Read more »

Google has made a habit of releasing the source code for each version of its Android operating system within days or weeks of the day when the first products start shipping with the OS. But while the Motorola XOOM tablet with Google Android 3.0 Honeycomb has been available for weeks, the Honeycomb source code has been missing in action. And according to Business Week, we… Read more »

Apple iOS 4.3 is now available for download for the latest iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad models. The operating system will come preloaded on the iPad 2 when it ships on March 11, but if you’re trying to figure out whether you want to install the update, here are some of the new features included in iOS 4.3: Faster web browsing Apple’s Nitro JavaScript engine… Read more »

Apple has released iOS 4.3 for the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. You can grab the software update by plugging your iDevice into your computer, firing up iTunes, visiting the “Devices” tab and clicking the “Update” button. The latest version of iOS brings a number of new features, including audio and video streaming enhancements if you have multiple Apple devices in your home, new settings… Read more »