In February we heard from LG and Samsung that they find no market demand and no carrier support for the Microsoft-owned platform.

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Meanwhile, HP after all this time told us nothing about pricing of the tablet, there was no mention of carrier partners and there are no assurances that the platform is going to attract robust support from developers.

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The carrier captain is responsible for providing the platform, aviation assets and services required to support missions assigned by the Strike Group Commander.

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They lack the firepower to inflict any serious damage to an LCS (Littoral Combat Ship) or a carrier but they are perfect for slipping through and hitting a platform.

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"So instead of building a phone, which seems like a desperate move, Facebook should partner with every operating system and carrier and hardware maker it can to try to embed this social platform within every mobile platform, " Blodget said.

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The reference platform will support leading operating systems, such as Windows 8 and Android, with a broadband interface with carrier selection.

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Yes, Android might be "open" in the sense that the source code is available, but there's no doubt Google's wielded incredible power over the platform by restricting access to Market and its own apps -- power that hasn't been used to prevent carrier-mandated bloatware or poorly-done manufacturer skinning, but has instead apparently been used to block legitimate competitors like Skyhook from doing business.

ENGADGET: Skyhook: Google forced Motorola to drop our location service, delay the Droid X