Not everyone is waiting for Apple’s next iPhone.
Rivals are pushing ahead with plans to better compete with Apple and stand apart from other makers of Android-powered devices.
Samsung, the South Korean electronics giant behind the Galaxy tablet, is reportedly interested in buying the webOS software that Hewlett-Packard has decided to scrap.
Samsung, which also makes a slew of smartphones, may scoop it up webOS in a bid to lessen its reliance on Google’s Android mobile operating system.
Android partners, including Samsung, LG and HTC, are more than a little wary of Google’s intentions now that it’s buying rival handset maker Motorola Mobility.
Samsung is further differentiating itself from other Android makers with the launch of its own mobile instant messaging service, ChatON.
The software, which will come pre-installed on Samsung phones starting in October, will not only offer a similar feature to ones from rivals like Apple and RIM but will challenge telecom companies’ text-messaging revenue cow.
The competition for smartphone customers is fierce heading into the fall, especially with Apple’s much anticipated launch of the next-generation iPhone in October.
Yesterday, the latest reports, citing information coming out of Apple’s supply chain, suggest that two Apple phones are in the works.
The Cupertino, Calif.-company is expected to launch an iPhone 5 along with a stripped-down iPhone 4 that would sell at a lower price.
RIM’s latest BlackBerry 7 smartphones are also starting to hit Sprint and AT&T customers.
The smartphone refresh is not the evolutionary leap RIM hopes to make when it releases products using its in-house developed QNX software, but the latest phones were enough to grab Wall Street’s attention.
RIM’s stock price has bounced back from a dismal drop and was above $30 for the first time in two months yesterday, closing at $30.73.