Android

Asylum Press is releasing a 32 page sampler comic via comiXology for the iPad and iPhone on May 5th for Free Comic Book Day. The sampler will feature 8-page previews of their titles Trenchcoats, Cigarettes and Shotguns, Black Powder, Farmhouse and Chopper. Aylum Press Sampler Free Comic Book 2012 #1 will also be available for Android devices, the KindleFire and Nook.

"We're excited about the possibility of reaching new fans on Free Comic Book Day,“ explains publisher Frank Forte. "People will be going to comics stores in droves, but they'll also be on their tablets and iPads. Mobile device and smart phone ownership keeps growing at an amazing rate and we want to provide great comics to these readers. Digital comics are the return of the newsstand."

The popular third-party browser Dolphin has been updated with a new voice-control feature. Dolphin Sonar allows users to search the web and navigate websites by using simple voice commands. Downloading version 4.0 adds a familiar looking microphone icon to the bottom left of the browser. Users can can easily access the Dolphin Sonar by tapping the icon or shaking their iPhone. The new voice control system eliminates the need for typing while searching Google or messing around on Facebook. Just tell Dolphin Sonar where you want it to go and it will lead you there.

The Dolphin Browser also features a magazine reader Webzine, one-click sharing for Twitter and Facebook, and Gesture, which allows you to create a personal symbol to access the websites you like the most. Dolphin Browser is compatible with the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. It requires iOS 4.0 or later.

We've heard it all before, Apple is adding T-Mobile and Sprint to its roster of iPhone carriers, but Piper Jaffray analyst Chris Larsen and analyst Shing Yin of Citadel Securities believe 2011 is the year Apple will actually make the move.

Most analysts seem to agree that if Apple wants to compete with the growing Android Market, they will have to make their products more accessible. The days of Apple exclusivity are over, and Larsen's crystal ball says the iPhone being offered by all four national carriers will increase Apple's market share by 30 percent.

"While we remain uncertain regarding the next-generation iPhone's specs and features, we believe the most noteworthy change could be the device's ability to run on more networks, specifically Sprint and T-Mobile in the U.S.," Larsen wrote in his analyst report.

Patent number 7,966,578 could change the face of the mobile device market. The newly approved iPhone patent filed by Apple over three-years ago is for "[a] computer-implemented method, for use in conjunction with a portable multifunction device with a touch screen display, [that] comprises displaying a portion of page content, including a frame displaying a portion of frame content and also including other content of the page, on the touch screen display."

Depending on how the patent is interpreted, it could give Apple control over all capacitive screen and multitouch interface devices. Several patent experts warned that if it's not invalidated, it could allow Apple to bully other smartphone manufacturers such as HTC, Samsung and Motorolo.

“Unless this patent is invalidated or at least narrowed, it will be a potential impediment to innovation until December 2027,” patent expert Florian Muller told Macworld. “I don’t see any innovative achievement disclosed in that patent document that would justify a monopoly of that breadth and duration. Apple could use it in various ways throughout that period, including some that would be highly undesirable.”

The most likely "undesirable" method would be demanding high licensing fees from competitors.

I don't know which is more annoying, all the iPhone 5 release date predictions, or all the conflicting reports about who will win the smartphone marketshare.

The latest next-generation iPhone rumor has the iPhone 5 being released the first week of September, prompting some tech blogs to crunch some Harold Camping type numbers and predict a Sept. 7 launch. According to the unverified reports, the iPhone 5 will come pre-loaded with Apple's latest operating system, the iOS 5, which was confirmed to be getting a fall release at this year's WWDC. Sept. 7 is also a Wednesday, the day Apple generally chooses to make its announcements. I guess that is another reason the date was chosen.

Some blogs are pointing to misinformation from the International Business Times, who appears to have started the rumor by plucking it out of thin air. Chris Smith noted that the IBTimes said iOS 5 will be released in July, but that's OS X Lion's launch date, not the iOS 5. And John Brownlee of Cult of Mac was left scratching his head over their claim that Apple is finding it “difficult to contend” with future Android devices.