The global smartphone market of 2014 could see Android in second place with a 25 percent share, followed by BlackBerry, Apple, and Windows Mobile, according to IDC's new "Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker."

Less than one year ago, most of my clients were requesting iPhone app design.  Today they are still asking for iPhone app design but many also say, “Do you do Android, too?”  Most of them plan to start with one platform, see how things go, and then decide whether to invest in the second platform.  This roll-out strategy is often tied into engineering costs.  Since few developers possess the coding skills required for each platform—Objective C for iPhone and Java for Android—it’s often necessary to hire two development teams. But what about design?

In its latest social acquisition, Google has bought mobile game developer SocialDeck, according to a letter posted by the company. SocialDeck is located in Waterloo, Ontario, close to a regional Google office.

SocialDeck’s games were downloaded about a million times in 2009. Its games include Shake & Spell, Color Connect and Pet Hero.

Carriers and handset makers are rallying to make it cheaper and easier to deliver applications on phones using the "official" brand of Java on mobile.

A report from hotspot locator WeFi will be released this week showing key metrics in mobile data consumption across platforms. Laptops and netbooks go through a lot of data over Wi-Fi hotspots, as you’d expect, but the report suggests smartphone owners are using hotspots instead of 3G in increasing numbers. With the recent surge in WiFi-enabled smartphones, WeFi’s report shows an uptick in smartphone data consumption, much of it by users on the Android platform. However, the data is limited by the absence of a major player in the smartphone arena.

Nokia has just announced that they’ve acquired mobile analytics firm Motally, which currently has only 8 employees. Financial  details have not been disclosed, and I doubt you’re going to hear about them anyway, but the deal is set to become official towards the end of this quarter.

RIM announced BlackBerry App World 2.0 earlier this year. The new version of the Web store brings a number of welcome changes, such as carrier billing, better searching, and better management tools for end users.

Apple kicked off 2010 with the purchase of the Quattro  mobile advertising platform. Fast forward eight months, and Apple is now pulling the plug on the Quattro network in favor of its own iAd mobile advertising platform.

The BlackBerry Torch 9800, though a high-end smartphone, is not in the same league internally as the Motorola Droid or Apple iPhone. The Torch 9800 is a high-end BlackBerry smartphone, but its core internals lag other high-end offerings from Apple and Motorola.

Curious as to what company’s have planned for mobile over the next year, Adobe conducted a survey  among retail, technology and media businesses to find out. Among the 446 responses it received, primarily from North American companies, it found that 80 percent of companies were planning, or had already deployed a mobile website, compared to the 8 percent of respondents that were interested in applications only.

There is  a huge buzz around mobile applications and app stores such as the AppStore and the Android Market which look more and more as a new Eldorado. Of course everybody starts dreaming when an app like Angry Birds shares that 6.5 million units have been sold generating  $4.5 million for the developers after Apple’s cut. But how many Angry Birds are there?

Microsoft unveiled the first wave of games for the Windows 7 smartphone operating system on Tuesday at the GamesCom 2010 conference in Cologne, Germany.

You don't need us to tell you that apps have grown to become a core part of modern smartphone ecosystems. Android and iOS, the two major app-centric OS environments are growing in leaps and bounds, while a substantial part of Windows Phone 7's eventual success is expected to hinge on exactly how it matches (or betters) those guys on the app front

Last week, Microsoft  released tantalising pictures of its latest device which got bloggers talking about a tablet. The division of Microsoft behind the account, however, makes keyboards, webcams and mice so it's more likely that the flat matt black device in the photos is Microsoft's rival to Apple's recently announced trackpad. Also Microsoft has a patchy record when it comes to consumer trends. While the Xbox has taken a valuable place in the games console market, its Zune portable music player is still years behind Apple's iPod in terms of sales. Last month chief executive Steve Ballmer said developing Windows-based tablet computers  is "job one urgency" for the software group

Google has long presented itself as looking out for the little guy. It easily could have used its wealth and power to gain preferential treatment from Internet providers but always said it would not because that could prevent the next start-up in a Silicon Valley garage from enjoying similar success.

But as Google has gotten bigger and entered new lines of business, it has revised some of its principles -- and it is drawing criticism from start-ups and public interest groups along the way.

As we approach the expected release of Microsoft's Windows Phone 7 operating system for smartphones, we still know relatively little about the devices that will be running it. A new video gives us a glimpse of the upcoming Windows Phone 7 device from HTC.

Microsoft 's current version of Windows, Windows 7, has been a critical and commercial success. But you always have to be working on the next version, and some leaked documents show what Windows 8 might look like.

Microsoft ’s engineers and executives spent two years creating a new line of smartphones with playful names that sounded like creatures straight out of “The Cat in the Hat” — Kin One and Kin Two. Stylish designs, an emphasis on flashy social-networking features and an all-out marketing blitz were meant to prove that Microsoft could build the right product at the right time for the finickiest customers — gossiping youngsters with gadget skills.