Technology Slice Blog

Android Phones Pick Up Pace - In the market for a high-end Android phone? Well, you're in luck – the phones are cheaper than they've ever been, and the discounts might just amount to the first shots in an overdue price war. That's bad news for Motorola and other Android manufacturers ... but chances are that Google isn't quite so heartbroken. Why Android is a profit machine … Thus far, Android has been a godsend for its three biggest phone manufacturers: Motorola, Samsung, and HTC. Not only is the mobile operating system keeping these companies from being laid to waste in the smartphone market by the juggernaut known as Apple's iPhone, but it's also doing wonders for the profit margins and average selling prices produced by their phone businesses. Last quarter, thanks to sales of the Droid X, Droid 2, and other Android models, Motorola reported a cell-phone ASP of $223, up nearly 80% from the $124 reported a year earlier. Even more importantly, booming Andro...