Google Android passes Apple's iPhone in total US subscribers

Strong sales of phones running Google Android throughout 2010 have managed to push the mobile platform past Apple's iPhone in total active subscribers for the first time, according to comScore.

The research firm released its latest figures this week, revealing that Android was the second-largest mobile platform in November of 2010. Google jumped past Apple even though the iPhone did not lose any share of the market, percentage wise.

Android continued its fast growth, taking another 6.4 points from its previous total in September to give it 26 percent of the U.S. market of smartphone subscribers. Android now only trails Research in Motion, which lost 4.1 points to hold 33.5 percent of the market.

Apple and the iPhone came in third, representing 25 percent of the total domestic market. The Cupertino, Calif., company gained 0.8 points from its share in September.

Of course, Apple's smartphone presence consists solely of the iPhone, while handsets running Google Android are represented by a number of manufacturers and many more devices.

Behind Apple was Microsoft, which slipped from 10.8 percent in September to 9 percent in November. Microsoft's new mobile platform, Windows Phone 7, launched in November.

In all, comScore found that there were 234 million Americans ages 13 and over using mobile devices, with just 61.5 million of those being smartphone owners. But the smartphone market continues to grow, increasing in size by 10 percent in November, versus the previous survey from September.

Quarterly sales of Android phones were first reported to have passed the iPhone in May of 2010. The new data from comScore represents devices actively being used, rather than current sales figures.

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Bonuses help Apple's Tim Cook earn $59M in 2010, Steve Jobs keeps $1 salary

Apple Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook earned a huge pay increase in 2010, thanks to cash bonuses and stock-based compensation, bringing his total earnings to more than $59 million, while CEO Steve Jobs kept his traditional $1 annual salary.

The compensation was revealed on Friday in the company's 2011 Proxy Statement, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Last March, Cook, 50, was given a "special award" to recognize his his "outstanding performance" in overseeing the company's day-to-day operations in 2009 when Jobs was on a medical leave of absence. He earned 75,000 restricted shares of AAPL stock, as well as a $5 million discretionary bonus.

Cook earned an annual salary of about $800,000, and added to his $52.3 million in stock awards and $5 million cash bonus, the chief operating officer received a total compensation of $59.1 million in fiscal 2010. It was a huge pay increase for Cook, who earned $1.64 million total in 2009.

Apple's Compensation Committee also determined in September that it was appropriate to increase Cook's base salary from $800,000 to $900,000, a raise that will be reflected in his compensation for the 2011 fiscal year.

Also given a raise last year was Bruce D. Sewell, who took over as Apple's general counsel and senior vice president in 2009. Sewell earned $650,000 in 2010, and will receive a $50,000 pay raise to $700,000 this year.

Not receiving a pay raise was Jobs, who has famously kept an annual salary of $1 per year since he rejoined Apple in 1997. Jobs remains well compensated, however, as he owns about 5.5 million shares of AAPL stock.

"Since rejoining the company in 1997, Mr. Jobs has not sold any of his shares of the Company's stock," the filing reads. "Mr. Jobs holds no unvested equity awards. The Company recognizes that Mr. Jobs's level of stock ownership significantly aligns his interests with shareholders' interests."

Apple's annual shareholder meeting will be held at the company's "Town Hall" (Building 4) at its Cupertino Calif., campus on Feb. 23 at 10 a.m. Pacific Standard Time. Admission to the meeting is allowed to shareholders on a first-come, first-served basis.

This post is sponsored by your professional Apple iPhone 4 Repair and unlock specialist!

If you think you have been cheated by questionable "professional repair centre" in New Zealand had illegally changed/steal your motherboard, please text us at +64211172222 and we will be more than happy to show you which government agency to file a report and recover your full amount of lost you have suffered plus data loss.

Is the Apple iPad 2 coming soon?

January 9th, 2011--Is the Apple iPad 2 coming soon? Well, you guess is as good as mine.  See what I have found at this link.

This post is sponsored by Abby Technology Limited - Your iPhone 4G Repair Specialist.

If you think you have been cheated or questionable "professional repair centre" in New Zealand had illegally changed/steal your motherboard, please text us at +64211172222 and we will be more than happy to show you which government agency to file a report and recover your full amount of lost you have suffered plus data loss.

Next Generation ‘iPhone 5′ Won’t Support 4G LTE Networks; Will Be Dual-Mode CDMA/GSM (tech, news, update, leaked)

January 9th, 2011:  While the arrival of Apple's iPhone on Verizon's network is widely speculated, people are wondering whether the Verizon iPhone will support Verizon's 4G LTE (Long Term Evolution) network, which will be rolled out by the end of the year.

AT&T has also announced plans of converting its network to LTE by 2011. 

According to TechCrunch, the CDMA iPhone will not support LTE and according to their sources, even the fifth generation iPhone will not support LTE networks

Incidentally, this is similar to what Apple did with the original iPhone, which worked only AT&T's 2.5G EDGE network. Apple launched the iPhone 3G a good one year after the first generation iPhone  was launched. This, even though there were 3G networks back in 2007 when the original iPhone arrived!

Apple on the other hand is reportedly working on the next generation  iPhone that would support both GSM and CDMA networks so that it can work on all carriers worldwide.

This could mean that you would not be seeing a 4G ready iPhone until mid 2012, which might be disappointing news to iPhone fans, especially when Sprint already has the HTC EVO 4G in its lineup.

But Steve Cheney an outside contributor to TechCrunch believes Apple might be taking the right decision to wait for the technology to mature:

[..] as we cut through the hype on LTE, I believe Apple's decision to wait may be the right one. While the carriers are promising LTE as an upgrade path that will drive new applications and higher speeds, the reality is that 4G deployments will take much longer than the carriers are letting on.

Apple doesn't want to mess with the first generation of LTE chipsets, since they will be bulky and power hungry[..]

What do you think? Will it be a deal-breaker if iPhone 5 doesn't support 4G LTE networks? [Via TechCrunch]

This post is sponsored by your Apple iPhone 4G Repair Specialist: Abby Technology Limited, Auckland, New Zealand