Despite 300,000 Android devices being activated daily, only 0.4 percent of all users are running version 2.3 Gingerbread, the latest upgrade to the mobile operating system.

The figure comes via Google's Android Developers website, with the note that Gingerbread's low adoption rate is thanks to the fact that it is only available on the Samsung Nexus S, which was released last month.

Google says (via LAT) that 51.3 percent of all devices are now running 2.2 Froyo, with 2.1 Eclair being run on 35.7 percent of Android devices.

The 2.1 figure is so high mainly thanks to Samsung's failure to upgrade Galaxy S owners to 2.2. There is still no official word or timetable for the update, leaving 11 million owners with an outdated operating system for the time being, unless they root their devices.

Users with the ancient 1.5 and 1.6 variants make up the remaining 12.6 percent.

The fragmentation of the operating system has been a main critical point of Android over the past year, with critics pointing to iOS 4.xx, which is on around 90 percent of all iPhones and iPads and is pushed to devices by Apple themselves, and not by the carriers.

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IDC has reported this week that the Apple iPad controls 87.4 percent of the "media tablet" market (as of the Q3), while Amazon controls the standalone e-reader market at 41.5 percent.

A "media tablet" is defined as a 5-to-14-inch tablet shaped device with color displays running lightweight OS, such as Android or iOS.

By the definition, the Nook Color is considered a media tablet, while the original Nook, which uses a monochrome E-ink display is considered an e-reader only.

Furthermore, IDC separated "tablet PCs" from the group, defining those as running a Windows OS, and being based on x86 processors.

Apple made tablets "trendy" when it launched the iPad in April of last year, and competitors have been scrambling to keep up. The company sold over 7 million devices in the last quarter (Q4), alone.

To date, the biggest competitor has been the Samsung Galaxy Tab, which runs on Android 2.2 and has sold 1 million units. Competition is expected to heat up in 2011, as a plethora of powerful dual-core tablets will hit the market running Android 3.0 (tablet-optimized) or webOS.

(Pic via AppleInsider)

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Roku will announce this week that it has signed its first cable channel, "WealthTV," to its ever-growing programming lineup.

The company, through director of business development and content partnerships Ed Lee, says WealthTV is just "the first domino to fall," and the set-top box company is already in talks with other channels.

For $2.99 per month, all Roku users get 24/7 access to the WealthTV feed that cable subscribers gets, as well as VOD right for programs.

Says WealthTV founder Robert Herring:

We're probably the only one in the industry who can do what we're doing right now. It's going to be a chance to lead.

PaidContent explains that "the loophole that WealthTV is slipping through is that it doesn't have affiliate deals with either of the two biggest operators, Comcast and Time Warner Cable . They typically insist for an independent channel seeking linear carriage to sign a contractual clause known as an alternative distribution methods (ADM) clause and/or sometimes even sell some equity in the venture to the operator."

Because of this, WealthTV is currently only in 11 million homes in the U.S.

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Citing the "explosion" in data usage by smartphones and tablets, U.S. carrier Sprint has added a $10 surcharge to the bills of all data-hungry devices, including non-4G phones.

The add-on charge will begin on January 30th.

Sprint says the "Premium Data" charge will help the company continue to offer their cheap unlimited plans.

Says the carrier (via PR):

Sprint wants its customers to experience the range of entertainment and productivity possibilities available with today's wireless technology. While some of our competitors impose overage charges and complex plans, Sprint continues to provide a worry-free, unlimited data experience while on the Sprint network. This is responsible, sustainable and reflects our commitment to simplicity and value.

Sprint's unlimited data plans, with or without the $10 charge, continue to beat the offerings of our top national competitors, who cap users' data, charge data overages, and do not offer the unique functionality of Any Mobile, Anytime, which gives subscribers on the Sprint network unlimited calling to any other wireless user in America regardless of carrier.

Smartphone users, on average, use around 298 MB per month in data, but that number has been slowly increasing as more and more Android phones are put into the market.

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One day after announcing that CEO Steve Jobs would take another medical leave from the company, Apple's stock plummeted at the open of trading this morning, falling as much as 22 points before rebounding to end the day down almost 8.

Apple finished the day down 2.25 percent, at $340.65 a share.

After trading finished, the company posted record quarterly results, and reassured investors of the strength of the management team and its upcoming products.

Revenue for the fiscal Q1 came in at $26.74 billion, and profit reached $6 billion for the period.

16 million iPhones were sold in the quarter, a large 86 percent year-over-year jump, with 7.3 million iPads and 4.1 million Macs being sold in the same period.

Says COO Tim Cook:

The team here has an unparalleled breadth and depth of talent and a culture of innovation that Steve has driven at the company. We feel very, very confident about the future of the company.

Cook will take over Job's day-to-day responsibilities in his absence.

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We would like to apologize to our regular readers for the lack of updates to AfterDawn's news section over the past week or so.

By coincidence, multiple members of staff have been absent due to bereavement at exactly the same time. Things should start to get back to normal from later today.

Thank you for reading.

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