Forget Glass, self-driving cars or a smartwatch. Developers, not physical consumer products, were Google's darlings at the company's annual I/O conference this week.

Google has introduced an IDE (integrated developer environment) aimed at easing development of Android apps.

Google I/O has not officially started, but the developers' show is already seeing some action. Two warring factions, the Resistance and the Enlightenment, are vying for control of various "portals" at key landmarks throughout San Francisco, which are leaking dangerous amounts of radioactive energy, to determine the fate of the city and ultimately the world.

Google kicks off its I/O developer conference next Wednesday and if there's one thing that could steal the limelight from Android, Chrome and all the other Google projects, it's Glass.

Semiconductor company MediaTek wants to improve the performance of low-cost Android-based smartphones with its latest system-on-a-chip (SoC), the MT6572.

LG Electronics more that doubled its sales of smartphones in the first quarter, which was the first time smartphones outsold feature phones, according to market research company IDC.

Motorola Mobility's Android phones infringe on a Microsoft text messaging patent, the Higher District Court of Munich ruled on Thursday.

Animated GIFs, journal entries, cat photos, and now, more ads. Tumblr, in an effort to further boost its revenue, is rolling out ads into users' mobile feeds.

Google did its best to court developers at this year's I/O conference with a much-needed integrated developer environment, API for better games and the ability to more easily translate apps. Their allegiance will become increasingly important as smartphone and tablet hardware sees fewer dramatic improvements.

HTC and Nokia are preparing to go head-to-head with new cameras on upcoming smartphones, as they hope to steal market share from Apple and Samsung Electronics.

Over the past year, patent battles have been fought by tech companies in courtrooms all over the world. The litigation is far from over though, however, and will continue throughout 2013. This is what's at stake on the patent battlefield in the near future.

These days, it is almost impossible to meet someone who doesn't own a cell phone. More specifically, smartphones, whether it be the trendy iPhone, corporate favored Blackberry or modern Windows Mobile, almost everyone has joined the smartphone frenzy -- and with good reason. A smartphone offers more advanced computing ability and connectivity than a contemporary phone.

Five years after its inception, Android is more dominant than ever in the smartphone OS market, despite facing a number of challenges along the way.

Google's Android 4.0 operating system is more than just another upgrade.