By making the OS open source, they’re hoping it can compete further with the iPhone and Android, which is also open source. The source code should be available later today on the Symbian Foundation’s website. They hope this move will also help increase the production of 3rd party apps and improve security of the OS.

Source: GSMArena

Definition of workaround–

• A workaround is a bypass of a recognized problem in a system. A workaround is typically a temporary fix that implies that a genuine solution to the problem is needed. Frequently workarounds are as creative as true solutions, involving outside the box thinking in their creation.

Google has definitely engaged in a workaround of Apple’s App Store as they have updated their mobile Google Voice web site to make Google Voice features accessible to iPhone, WebOS and Windows Mobile users (see below). Through a HTML5-based web app, anybody with a HTML5-capable web browser can access now Google Voice.

HTML5-capable mobile browsers include all Webkit-based mobile browsers, which includes Safari in iPhone 3.0+,the Palm WebOS browser, and the S60 web browser for Symbian as well as Chrome on Android. For Windows Mobile devices, Skyfire 1.5 (verified by myself) and presumably the Iris browser works. However, Opera Mobile 9.5 on Windows Mobile does NOT work  nor does Internet Explorer Mobile (also verified by myself).

After the break is a video by Google showcasing this new-found workaround.

Source- DailyMobile.se

Currently running on less than 2% of all smartphones, Gartner Inc. predicts it will surge to 14% of the global smartphone market by 2012 — ahead of the iPhone, as well as Windows Mobile and BlackBerry. 

By 2012, Gartner forecasts that Android will rank second in the global market behind the Symbian OS.  Symbian is used in Nokia devices that are very popular in Europe and other countries outside the United States. 

What’s driving this surge?  The primary predicted increase in popularity comes from Google Inc.’s backing of Android and the increase of cloud applications and functions.  Google will continue to increase their cloud infrastructure in the coming years. 

T-Mobile’s G-1 (the first Android release) was released to mild consumer and critical praise.  However, Google is continuing to refine their operating system and more Android-based handsets are becoming available.  Additionally, Android is much more open and easily tweaked as compared to Apple and their iPhone.  Pair Android with Google’s near-world wide services and you have a pretty convincing argument for it’s predicted increase in popularity. 

Smartphone interfaces seem to have headed off in two divergent ways: iPhone’s heavy focus on applications versus Windows Mobile’s and Symbian’s focus on tasks and communications. But Android has blended a focus on applications and tasks pretty well.

Android’s inface allows a user to perform frequently needed tasks without going back to the top of the logic tree. 

Here’s the predicted forecast for smartphone OS’s by 2012:

• Symbian, 203 million devices sold (39% of the market)
• Android, 76 million devices sold (14.5% of the market)
• iPhone, 71.5 million devices sold (13.7% of the market)
• Windows Mobile, 68.8 million devices sold (12.8% of the market)
• BlackBerry, 62.25 million devices sold (12.5% of the market)
• Palm’s WebOS, 11 million devices sold (2.1% of the market)