IT professionals around the world are collectively more interested in developing and deploying mobile applications for Google’s Android platform than any other mobile OS. A new study conducted by IBM and published earlier this week included data from more than 4,000 IT professionals around the world, offering insights into a number of technology trends in 2011 and beyond. No space is hotter than mobile right now, and IBM’s survey found that 70% of IT pros are planning to develop and deploy applica...

At least one investor is calling on Nintendo to begin developing titles for Apple’s iOS platform, a move away from the company’s standard practice of developing for its own portable gaming consoles. “Smartphones are the new battlefield for the gaming industry,” Stats Investment Management Co. fund manager Masamitsu Ohki said. “Nintendo should try to either buy its way into this platform or develop something totally new.” Despite Ohki’s push and recent rumors that Nint...

HTC has issued a statement naming the first phones that will receive unlocked bootloader updates this coming September. In a statement to BGR via email, the company said that the international version of its Sensation smartphone, T-Mobile’s Sensation 4G, and Sprint’s EVO 3D will be among the first phones to receive a patch that enables bootloader unlocking.”While we wish we could flip a simple switch and unlock all bootloaders across our device portfolio, this is actually a complex challeng...

During the company’s I/O keynote today, Google announced a new and powerful accessory design kit (ADK) that aims to merge the physical and digital worlds. Using the ADK and a hardware interface, developers can allow digital devices to manipulate physical objects. To illustrate this point, Google constructed a two-ton labyrinth right on the show floor. Using the gyroscope on a Motorola XOOM tablet, conference goers were able to try their hand at manipulating a bowling ball through the over-sized maze. ...

Microsoft is aiming to assuage the pains of mobile application developers looking to migrate their iOS applications from Apple’s mobile operating system to Windows Phone. “Launched today, the iPhone/iOS to Windows Phone 7 API mapping tool helps developers find their way around when they discover the Windows Phone platform,” writes Microsoft in a blog post. “Think of the API mapping tool as being like a translation dictionary.” The tool will allow iOS developers to easily find the...

LG’s about to get its MeeGo on. Next month, the Korean phone manufacturer is set to debut a prototype device during the MeeGo Conference in San Francisco from May 23rd to May 25th. Details leaked by MeeGo Experts have revealed that LG has a special session up its sleeves during which it plans to show off “multiple” LG branded devices running the OS created by Intel and Nokia. LG will also discuss its future plans for the platform, including its developments for MeeGo powered tablets, smartph...

“It is our intention to enable the unlockable/relockable bootloader currently found on Motorola XOOM across our portfolio of devices starting in late 2011, where carriers and operators will allow it.” Those were the words of Motorola in response to a very persistent customer. Irwin Proud, an Australian national, purchased a Motorola Atrix 4G during a recent trip to the United States. Proud acquired the handset hoping that Motorola would follow through on its promise to provide an unlocked-bootloader...

In a recent blog post, Nokia reaffirmed its commitment to the Windows Phone ecosystem by offering us a glimpse at what is to come. The company’s CEO, Stephen Elop, has noted that Nokia has “shifted from a mode of developing” its strategy to one of “putting that strategy into action.” Part of the Finnish phone giants plans involve bringing some of Nokia’s strengths to all members of the Windows Phone family, and one of the most exciting Symbian ports will definitely be Ovi...

No one likes letting a perfectly good operating system go to waste. Reuters is reporting that just as Nokia begins to divest in the MeeGo operating system, other companies are starting to dig in. The publication writes that electronics giant LG has joined the likes of ZTE and China Mobile in a “working group” that aims to develop a MeeGo-based smartphone. “It [Nokia's absence] is opening opportunities for the others to come in,” said a member of MeeGo’s steering committee. ...

Over the weekend, Bloomberg filed a very brief report stating that electronics manufacturer Sony will soon test the Android-tablet waters. Citing statements made by the company’s CEO to Japanese newspaper Nikkei, the publication writes: “Sony Corp. plans to release a tablet computer by the end of summer [...] the tablet will run Google Inc.’s Android 3.0 Honeycomb software, and will be sold in the U.S. market first.” The company, through its partnership with Ericsson, has plenty of expe...

Nokia CEO Stephen Elop confirmed to Reuters that his company has started developing its first Windows Phone handset. “We’re right now, today, having people work on the first Windows Phone devices,” said the CEO. Nokia announced that it would adopt Microsoft’s Windows Phone mobile operating system on future smartphones during a February press event. The timeline of when the Finnish company will release its first Windows-based handset has been a debated topic amongst many industry ana...

In a recent press release, mobile device giant Nokia announced a tentative, signed agreement that will jettison the commercial licensing rights of the Qt development platform to Digia. “Through the proposed acquisition, around 3500 desktop and embedded customer companies from various industries are targeted to be transferred to Digia,” reads the announcement. “The transaction is expected to be closed by the end of March 2011.” Digia notes that Nokia will continue to “invest in t...

Motorola definitely hasn’t won over the hearts and minds of the most hardcore Android tinkerers — thanks in large part to the company’s locked-down hardware and software. But Moto is showing signs of life. In a recent tweet, Motorola quipped that:The XOOM will have an unlockable/relockable bootloader that will enable developers to access hardware for developmentNot a bad starting point, and certainly a great way to get developers excited about the world’s first Android 3.0 tablet. Now&...

At at joint press conference today, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and Nokia CEO Stephen Elop provided specific details about what the newly forged partnership between their two companies will look like. Fans of Nokia hardware and the Windows Phone software can get excited about the prospects of Xbox Live, Office, and enhanced maps (a combination of Ovi Maps and Bing) coming to Nokia WP sets. Fans of Windows Phone in general can get excited about the world’s largest phone manufacturer throwing its weight b...