Here are your Apple rumors and news items for Friday:
Android Over iPhones: A Gartner report has found that phones running Google’s (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android operating system continue to outsell competitors like Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone. Android phones accounted for 36% of all mobile phones sold in the first quarter, up from 9.6% a year ago. The iPhone accounted for 16.8% of all mobile phones, up from 15.3%.
Research In Motion (NASDAQ:RIMM), meanwhile, saw its market share fall to 12.9% from 19.7%, Microsoft’s (NASDAQ:MSFT) Windows phones fell to 3.6% from 6.8%, and Nokia’s (NYSE:NOK) Symbian experienced the largest drop, falling to 27.4% from 44.2%. Google’s larger share comes from the Android operating system being sold on multiple manufacturers’ phones, such as Motorola (NYSE:MMI), Samsung, and HTC. Nokia remains the leading mobile phone maker by revenue, followed closely by Apple.
No Unlimited Data: Reuters has confirmed that Verizon (NYSE:VZ) will not offer unlimited data plans going forward as an effort to limit the strain on its mobile networks following the massive influx of new users. Both Verizon and AT&T (NYSE:T) are limiting customer data usage as the telecoms begin to switch from 3G networks to 4G networks that are only available in a small portion of the U.S. Verizon CFO Fran Shammo said her company and AT&T will simultaneously support an iPhone-compatible release, although it’s not likely to happen this year.
H-P’s Price is Right: Hewlett-Packard’s (NYSE:HPQ) iPad competitor-to-be, the TouchPad, is still largely a mystery. We know it will feature exclusive magazine content from Time Warner’s (NYSE:TWX) Time Inc. imprint and that it will use the Palm-developed WebOS operating system rather than Google’s Android. Website PreCental (via Engadget) added another piece to the puzzle on Friday with a report that puts the 32-gigabybe TouchPad’s price at $600. The article features what it claims is a leaked image from Wal-Mart’s (NYSE:WMT) product database listing for the tablet. If true, this means that H-P will be matching Apple’s iPad on price rather than undercutitng it, a dangerous gamble in a market that Apple continues to dominate.
As of this writing, Anthony John Agnello did not own a position in any of the stocks named here. Follow him on Twitter at @ajohnagnello and become a fan of InvestorPlace on Facebook.
