Earnings reports and rumors provide plenty of fodder for this week's operating system rundown.
Samsung, Apple fight for #1: Samsung Corp. wasn't about to let Apple Inc. get all the glory this week. The Android handset maker shipped 95 million smartphones in 2011, according to IHS iSuppli, up 278 percent from 25 million in 2010. Apple, which shipped 37 million iPhones in its explosive first quarter, only shipped 93 million for the year in total, making it a close second. According to iSuppli, it's now a "tight battle for leadership that will continue throughout 2012" between the two device giants. (See Apple: the Numbers Behind the (Huge) Numbers.)
Little love for Android in Q4: The iPhone stole the show at AT&T Inc. and Verizon Wireless's fourth-quarter earnings, casting a shadow over its Android competitors. AT&T had its best quarter yet for Android activations, but they made up less than 20 percent of the carrier's sales. Over at Verizon, sales of all Android devices combined still couldn't catch up to Apple's wunderkind. (See AT&T Banks on Broadband, Cries for Spectrum and VZ iPhone Boosts Data, Shaves Margins in Q4.)
Nokia waits on Windows Phone: Nokia Corp. is hoping it can pull an Apple and make up for a weak quarter in which it's waiting on its next Windows Phone smartphones with an explosive one to follow. The Finnish handset maker lost US$1.25 billion in the fourth quarter as it works on its transition to its new OS. Nokia did, however, manage to sell more than 1 million Lumia smartphones during the quarter, suggesting there's hope yet. (See Nokia Ends 2011 on a Low.)
HP outlines webOS's road to open: Hewlett-Packard Co. has committed to making the full open-source code for webOS available by September. In the meantime, the company this week released Enjo, its JavaScript app framework to allow developers to build apps for the OS that work across devices. (See HP Outlines webOS's Open Source Timeline.)
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