Google activating 300,000 Android devices per day, for free

Google's vice president of engineering Andy Rubin sent out his second tweet, this time announcing the company is now activating 300,000 Android phones each day. That's unlikely to have passed Apple's current activation rate for iOS devices, and Google is making no direct revenues from the widespread distribution of its software.

"There are over 300,000 Android phones activated each day," Rubin tweeted from his little used Twitter account. The tweet appeared to be a response to reports that Android activations were plateauing.

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Google Chrome OS Has Enterprise Friend in Citrix

Citrix Systems has pledged its support for Google Chrome OS in 2011. The company will pair its Citrix Receiver virtualization app with Chrome OS netbooks for its customers.

Google's Chrome Operating System isn't yet ready for prime time on notebook computers, but the company has landed corporate remote access power Citrix Systems as a partner.

Google Dec. 7 said at an update event that it consumers would be able to purchase netbooks based on its Web operating system, which lets users run Web apps in the Chrome browser, from Samsung and Acer in mid-2011.

Concerns about bugs, performance tuning, and connecting digital cameras to the mix are a few of the reasons why Chrome OS had been delayed in the market.

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Set-Top Box Shoot-Out

Apple TV and Google TV aren’t the only media receivers on the block. Here’s a look at the best ways to bring the Web to your HDTV.

Media streaming has come of age this year. A class of products that was born back in 2008 with a simple box by Roku that streamed Netflix video to your television has grown to include devices that bring the entire Web to your TV screen. You might even say that the concept of living room convergence we’ve been talking about for years has arrived.

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How To Develop A Mobile Application Without Breaking The Bank

Apple vs. Google. AT&T vs. Verizon. The competition for mobile dominance is not only hot, it is heating up further with every phone release. Why has this sector become such a consumer staple? Two words: mobile applications.

Based on the rapid advancement in mobile technology, applications and mobile tools offer everything that a consumer or business person could possibly dream of. Consumers didn’t pay $500-$600 for the first iPhone because it could dial a phone number, they did so because they could do amazing things with it. Now for the million dollar question: Why doesn’t your company have a mobile application?

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Android Will Give NFC a Boost, but Challenges Remain

Android-based smartphones with NFC (Near Field Communication) will help turn mobile phones into wallets, but there are issues that have to be solved before that happens, according to analysts.

On Monday, Google CEO Eric Schmidt announced at the Web. 2.0 Summit that the next version of Android, code-named Gingerbread, will support mobile payments and he also showed an upcoming Android-based smartphone with an integrated NFC chipset.

“We think actually that Android devices should support [NFC],” said Schmidt.

NFC is a short-range wireless technology that, for example, can be used to make contactless payments.

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