The new operating system update looks to be significant for a couple reasons. Up until now, Apple has set the standard for touchscreen, mobile devices. Virtually everyone else made knockoffs and imitations. But Google has gone and announced features that a) have been asked for on the iPhone, and b) still are not available for it. For once, Apple is playing catch-up. This main feature is the capability to view and use Flash content.
Since the first iPhone came out, consumers have been asking for the ability to use Flash. Steve Jobs has resisted, and the topic became a sorespot for Apple and Adobe. There is an emerging war of video formats, Apple and Microsoft backing HTML5 and the royalty-encumbered H.264 codec (it's how YouTube runs on iPhones & iPads when the rest of the world sees YouTube as Flash). Google's just announced their plans to develop a new video format, and teamed up with established web browser makers Mozilla and Opera, it's guaranteed to be a force to be reckoned with. But before Google's WebM format is available, they've already made the shift to allow Android phones running Froyo to run Flash.
Depending on the success of having Flash on mobile devices, Apple may or may not have to respond. Many flash applications are just that, applications, rather than video, and those applications require interaction. Up until now, Flash has never been used on touchscreen devices, so the flash apps and games that run so well on computers where we have a keyboard and mouse may prove to be a significantly different experience using a touchscreen. Either way, for Android users to have the option of viewing and using Flash content is a big step in the right direction. Only time will tell if the interface is suitable, and if Google figured out a way to solve the problem of battery life.
The other significant change Froyo brings is tethering; that is, turning your phone into a mobile wi-fi hotspot. So if you happened to buy the wi-fi only iPad from Apple, but also had a Google phone, you could connect to the Internet that way. Or if you're at a lunch where people are using laptops, this single device could provide wireless Internet access to everyone.
While Google didn't necessarily come up with the ideas of tethering or Flash compatibility (iPhone users have been wanting them since day 1), they are the first to take steps to address those issues. And while I favor Apple, I'm glad of the competition Google's actions will foster, and looking forward to the next generation of mobile computing.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("Martinus Luther") to His Friend the Theologian Gerhard Wiskamp ("Gerardo Xantho Lampadario"). $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: An Exceptionally Fine Copy of Austenís Emma: A Novel in Three Volumes. $40,000 - $60,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Presentation Copy of Ernest Hemmingwayís A Farewell to Arms for Edward Titus of the Black Mankin Press. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript Signed Integrally for "The Songs of Pooh," by Alan Alexander. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Manuscript of "Three Fragments from Gˆtterd‰mmerung" by Richard Wagner. $30,000 - $50,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Preliminary Artwork, for the First Edition of Snow Crash. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("T.R. Malthus") to Economist Nassau Senior on Wealth, Labor and Adam Smith. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides Finely Bound by Michael Wilcox. $20,000 - $30,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: First Edition of Lewis and Clark: Travels to the Source of the Missouri River and Across the American Continent to the Pacific Ocean. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Original Artwork for the First Edition of Neal Stephenson's Groundbreaking Novel Snow Crash. $100,000 - $150,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: A Complete Set Signed Deluxe Editions of King's The Dark Tower Series by Stephen King. $8,000 - $12,000.
Bonhams, Dec. 8-18: Autograph Letter Signed ("John Adams") to James Le Ray de Chaumont During the Crucial Years of the Revolutionary War. $8,000 - $12,000.
Sotheby’s Book Week December 9-17, 2025
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Hooke, Robert. Micrographia: or some Physiological Descriptions of Minute Bodies made by Magnifying Glasses. London: James Allestry for the Royal Society, 1667. $12,000 to $15,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Chappuzeau, Samuel. The history of jewels, first edition in English. London: T.N. for Hobart Kemp, 1671. $12,000 to $18,000.
Sotheby’s, Dec. 12: Sowerby, James. Exotic Mineralogy, containing his most realistic mineral depictions, London: Benjamin Meredith, 1811, Arding and Merrett, 1817. $5,000 to $7,000.
Heritage Auctions Rare Books Signature Auction December 15, 2025
Heritage, Dec. 15: John Donne. Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death. London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.
Heritage, Dec. 15: Edgar Rice Burroughs. Tarzan of the Apes.
Heritage, Dec. 15: F. Scott Fitzgerald. Tender is the Night. A Romance.
Heritage, Dec. 15: Jerry Thomas. How to Mix Drinks, or the Bon-Vivant's Companion, Containing Clear and Reliable Directions for Mixing All the Beverages Used in the United States…
![<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.](https://ae-files.s3.amazonaws.com/AdvertisementPhotos/8caddaea-4c1f-47a7-9455-62f53af36e3f.jpg "<b>Heritage, Dec. 15:</b> John Donne. <i>Poems, By J. D. With Elegies on the Author's Death.</i> London: M[iles]. F[lesher]. for John Marriot, 1633.")
