The mobile wars are over | TechCrunch

Also see Mossberg: How Google's bold moves shake up the tech industry (The Verge); tangentially, see Southwest Flight Evacuated After Samsung Phone Catches Fire, Airline Says (NYT)

"Now, however, Google has announced its own phone, the Pixel, and it looks like the impetus to buy anything other than the latest and the greatest from either Apple or Google is swiftly waning. Even Samsung is hurting after the (literal) smoke cleared.

The Pixel is important. It’s the first phone that Google considers a Google product and, like most Google products, it’s pretty compelling. I know the Nexus line has always been considered “Google’s own phone,” but when the company decided to pack the new Pixel with all of its best-of-breed tech, they drew a line in the sand: This is the best Android phone to buy, bar none, and OEMs will have to step up their game. 

And there isn’t much game left."

The mobile wars are over | TechCrunch