Google’s head of Android Andy Rubin took to Twitter today to let the world know that over 300,000 Android smartphones are being activated each day.
Marking only the second time he has ever tweeted, Rubin says, simply: “There are over 300,000 Android phones activated each day.”
The number is a huge jump from the 200,000-a-day claim stated in August. In February the company claimed 60,000 per day and 160,000 in June.
Adds Rubin, via MM: “It looks like Android is not just phenomenal but incredibly phenomenal in its growth rate. God knows how long that will continue.”
Android has quickly become the most popular smartphone operating system in the United States, surpassing RIM and Apple in the Q3 2010.
Version 2.3 of the OS, dubbed Gingerbread, has just been unveiled and will be available next week via the new flagship Nexus S.
Result for: second time
Dish Network and Echostar have won a victory this week over TiVo, with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office claiming TiVo’s patent claims for “time warp” DVR tech are invalid.
The updated ruling comes after the PTO reexamined the patents for a second time.
TiVo said it would follow the ruling with additional arguments.
The decision could still lead to the satellite companies paying damages to TiVo, but the new PTO ruling could still have long-term ramifications in TiVo’s other cases against AT&T and Verizon, says the WSJ.
All the companies have been fighting for years over the patents to the technology that allows for pausing, rewind and fast-forwarding of live TV.
In 2006, Dish and EchoStar were found liable of patent infringement when they began creating their own set-top boxes. The companies are currently in “en banc review,” which will spell out the legal ramifications of the case.
Most expect TiVo to win.
Result for: second time
On Monday night, DirecTV began sending out a firmware update for their HD DVRs. Within hours, complaints were trickling in that the software update was making the set-tops unresponsive.
Today, the provider posted a note on their website in an effort to help users get back access to their boxes.
“If your set top box is not responding to either your remote control or front panel button input please be advised that you will need to do the following to resolve the issue,” reads the opening statement.
Continued: “Just flip the door down on the front of your set top box and press the red button. Be patient as the box may take up to one minute to respond to this reset. Let the system reboot until either a picture or grey screen appears on your TV. Then press the red button again, which will reboot your system a second time. This should resolve the issue.”
The provider did not offer a timetable for a real fix, or why the glitch occurred.
