The Fortnight in Android news for 7th December

Due to the hectic Christmas schedules we plucky editors are currently fending off with pointy objects, we’ve been a wee bit swamped here at Android NZ, so consider this a bumper NOTW post – we’ve got a bit of catching up to do, but there’s loads more great content coming your way very soon, folks. Stay tuned, and in the meantime, here’s what we’ve been up to:

Industry news of note:

The Android vs. iOS battle rages on in the form of Samsung vs. Apple – The brand new Galaxy Tab 10.1N (Yeah, we’re having trouble keeping track of Sammy’s naming conventions, too) has just hit the shelves in Germany, and sure enough, Cupertino’s finest fun police representatives are hard at work trying to stop people buying it. It’s not looking so good for Apple across the ditch, however, as the decision to ban sales original flavour Galaxy Tab 10.1 in Australia has been overturned – not to mention an out-and-out failure to block Galaxy device sales in the US. Market-wise, we've heard that Android’s dominating in the US, while the UK has seen stronger demand for iOS in October. When we these companies just learn to get along, and go back to making us ridiculously expensive pocket computers? Your guess is as good as ours, but as long as someone’s still throwing punches, we’ll be here to talk about it.

In other news, we’ve heard the somewhat disturbing report that Google have blocked popular developers' market accounts without so much as a how's your father - more on this one as it develops. We've also seen Amazon’s Kindle Fire shoot straight to second place in the US tablet market, and at that price, who didn’t see it coming? Speaking of tablets, Google’s latest and greatest, Ice-Cream Sandwich, has been spotted running on the original flavour ASUS Transformer. Can’t wait to spot it running on mine, eh?

Reviews:

Video reviewer extraordinaire, Gianpy, has been busy this week, pumping out his thoughts on several Galaxy Nexus accessories. TheSGP Ultra oleophobic screen protector  got a run-down, as did the Diztronic matte black TPU case. If you've just got a Galaxy Nexus (And we have!) and have a hankering for some protection, well, here's your man.

I spent a few days putting a Windows Phone 7 device - the Dell Venue Pro, running Mango - through its paces to see if it could stand in for my Galaxy S II. It did so well enough, and offered a refreshingly different experience, so check the review out here if you're looking for something to contrast with the usual Android content - not to worry, folks, I'm not going anywhere, and we're not really switching to Mobile Operating Systems Assorted NZ. 

Finally, NZtechfreak's gigantic review of a gigantic device, the Galaxy Note, finally came to an end, and we've got the round-up to prove it.  If you missed any of the previous parts, it's all here for your enjoyment. He's really left no stone unturned, folks, I'd go so far as to say you're looking at the most definitive review this device is going to get.

Apps:

Running a little light on apps this week, we did spare a moment for Sony Ericsson’s music identification app, TrackID, which is now available for non-Sony Ericsson devices, provided you live in Sweden – or provided you click our download link. 

Other stuff:

Finally, Artoodetoo’s been at it again, with the fourth part of the continuing Brief History of Android series. Take a look here, and if you haven’t already read the first three parts, check them out too: 1, 2, 3.