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Research In Motion may find that many of its customers are in motion, a survey of more than 1,000 smartphone users suggests. Asked about their next smartphone purchase, 39 percent of 159 RIM BlackBerry users told Crowd Science, an online research firm, that they "definitely or probably" want an Apple iPhone.

Another 34 percent said they would prefer a phone that uses Google's Android operating system. Combined with 38 percent who said they might consider Android, that makes a 72 percent opening for Android, narrowly beating the 68 percent opening for the iPhone.

Open To Nexus One

Asked if they would switch from their present handset to Google's Nexus One, which debuted in January, 32 percent of BlackBerry users said they would, compared to just nine percent of iPhone users. The poll did not ask users about Palm or Windows Mobile phones.

"These results show that the restlessness of BlackBerry users with their current brand hasn't just been driven by the allure of iPhone," said John Martin, CEO of Crowd Science, in a blog post. "Rather, BlackBerry as a brand just isn't garnering the loyalty seen with other mobile operating systems."

The largest share of BlackBerry users, however, 49 percent, chose the category "other smartphone," which could include another BlackBerry. (Because participants were allowed multiple selections, totals for each device add up to more than 100 percent.)

No Status Quo Option

The poll did not allow BlackBerry users to directly express satisfaction with their current model, which led Current Analysis consumer-devices research expert Avi Greengart to question its reliability.

"The survey doesn't ask BlackBerry owners if they would buy another BlackBerry, so its results are meaningless," said Greengart. "If you ask 'Which of the following things would you buy' and not include 'What you already have,' you will get, by design, high responses for whatever you present...

Dell is accusing five Japanese and Taiwanese companies of price-fixing on LCD panels. The computer maker filed suit Friday in U.S. District Court in San Francisco against Sharp, Hitachi, Toshiba, Seiko Epson, and HannStar.

In its 61-page complaint, Dell said it filed suit "on behalf of itself and its affiliates to recover for antitrust and other harms arising from billions of dollars of purchases at artificially inflated prices, over several years, of thin-film transistor liquid-crystal display panels, or products containing TFT-LCD panels."

Dell alleges the companies formed a cartel to artificially inflate the prices on components Dell has been purchasing from them since 1996. Dell claims it has suffered, but didn't specify damages.

None of the companies named in the suit has issued an official comment. However, some of the brands have been down this road before. Sharp agreed to pay a $120 million fine for price-fixing in April 2001 and December 2006, the Dell lawsuit says. Hitachi also agreed to pay $31 million for the same offense.

Dell's Business Sense

Considering that Dell purchased billions of dollars worth of LCD screens over the past five years as LCDs became the display of choice for most desktop and virtually all laptop computers, it makes sense for the company to attempt to recover the money it thinks it was overcharged, said Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT.

Since the U.S. government has already pursued and received fines from two of the companies, King isn't surprised that Dell is pursuing legal action -- and he said other vendors could soon line up to recover the financial damages they claim to have suffered at the hands of the cartel.

"If you look at past suits where an admission of guilt has resulted in injuries to third parties, it does create a dynamic that leads to additional suits," King...

Dell is accusing five Japanese and Taiwanese companies of price-fixing on LCD panels. The computer maker filed suit Friday in U.S. District Court in San Francisco against Sharp, Hitachi, Toshiba, Seiko Epson, and HannStar.

In its 61-page complaint, Dell said it filed suit “on behalf of itself and its affiliates to recover for antitrust and other harms arising from billions of dollars of purchases at artificially inflated prices, over several years, of thin-film transistor liquid-crystal display panels, or products containing TFT-LCD panels.”

Dell alleges the companies formed a cartel to artificially inflate the prices on components Dell has been purchasing from them since 1996. Dell claims it has suffered, but didn’t specify damages.

None of the companies named in the suit has issued an official comment. However, some of the brands have been down this road before. Sharp agreed to pay a $120 million fine for price-fixing in April 2001 and December 2006, the Dell lawsuit says. Hitachi also agreed to pay $31 million for the same offense.

Dell’s Business Sense

Considering that Dell purchased billions of dollars worth of LCD screens over the past five years as LCDs became the display of choice for most desktop and virtually all laptop computers, it makes sense for the company to attempt to recover the money it thinks it was overcharged, said Charles King, principal analyst at Pund-IT.

Since the U.S. government has already pursued and received fines from two of the companies, King isn’t surprised that Dell is pursuing legal action — and he said other vendors could soon line up to recover the financial damages they claim to have suffered at the hands of the cartel.

“If you look at past suits where an admission of guilt has resulted in injuries to third parties, it does create a dynamic that leads to additional suits,” King…