Google has open sourced Ice Cream Sandwich before the release of the Galaxy Nexus. This means any developers will be able to play with the inner workings of Google’s latest operating system. This also means that the very talented public will be able to step in when hardware manufacturers drop the ball. If your phone isn’t going to get Ice Cream Sandwich, hackers will almost certainly cook up a mod that will put your device on the same playing field as newer devices.

Microsoft showed Windows 8 to developers today at its BUILD conference. Windows 8 is a dramatic change from what we’re used to seeing with the operating system. Microsoft is taking advantage of the soaring popularity of mobile and web applications and touch interfaces in Windows 8. You may be wondering what kind of hardware you will need in order to run Windows 8. While Steven Sinofsky, the president of Microsoft’s Windows division, didn’t come out and say every somewhat modern PC can run Windows 8, he did give that impression.

Now that HP isn’t interested in creating mobile devices that run on the webOS platform, it’s up to another manufacturer to swoop in and save webOS from an untimely demise. Samsung was thought to be a webOS savior at one point, but the company made it abundantly clear that it is not interested in webOS in the slightest. HTC on the other hand is singing a different tune. HTC is open to purchasing webOS or any other mobile OS the company feels would fit in well with its plans.

Google hasn’t even revealed specific details on what its next version of Android, tastily named Ice Cream Sandwich, will do differently from previous versions. We know Ice Cream Sandwich will combine the operating systems on Android smartphones and tablets into one big super OS. There were also some supposed leaks from a build of Ice Cream Sandwich that have not been confirmed yet. A new rumor has now surfaced that suggests the next version of Android after Ice Cream Sandwich may be called Jelly Bean.

The relationship between Samsung and HP has taken another turn. When HP announced that it was looking to either spin-off or sell its PC division, Samsung was rumored as being a potential buyer. Samsung later said those rumors weren’t true. Today, the Digitimes reports Samsung is thinking about taking webOS off HP’s hands.

Less than a week ago, HP shocked all of us by announcing that there would be no more webOS devices. That announcement ushered in the death of the HP TouchPad and the Pre 3 almost immediately. This led many of us to believe that HP was going back on its word of delivering webOS to other devices such as Windows PCs and printers. Despite the cloudy future of webOS, HP is still saying it will use webOS in the future.

Following its study into Netflix usage on individual devices, Nielsen has returned with another report detailing the leading smartphone manufacturers and mobile operating systems in the United States. It’s no surprise that Android and iOS are leading the pack, but now we’ve got numbers to back it up.

RIM has seen better times. At this point in time, its BlackBerry smartphones are falling behind in the market. Customers are flocking to the iPhone and various Android devices at increasing rates. BlackBerry phones just don’t have the third-party support or the all-important “it factor” that’s required of phones these days. While RIM desperately tries to get its act together, it needs to rely on its upcoming BlackBerry smartphones such as the BlackBerry 9930 and 9900 to get by. A Boy Genius Report source says that RIM is so dependent on these devices, it’s pressuring carriers to approve them “no matter what.”

Earlier today we posted on the rumor that Apple’s iPhone 3Gs likely won’t get the next OS update to iOS5. This seems to be classic Apple behavior in efforts to move the flock to your latest hardware. But what about the original iPad, will it run iOS5? The consensus in the tech media seems to more »

According to Gartner research, Microsoft is leading the charge in the OS arena with a near 80% market share with a second place IBM coming in with a mere 7.5%. In terms of growth, MS saw a raise of 8 percent year-over-year while Apple and Oracle jumped 15.8% and 7,683% respectively. Oracle’s rapid growth can more »