Apple won't be the big 2012 growth winner, despite iPhone 5, neither will Android

Friday, August 24, 2012

Digitimes has done some research and has put together some numbers for what the market share could look like by the end of the year. Surprisingly, despite the iPhone 5, Apple won't be the big growth winner of 2012, and, at least based on growth rate, neither will Android. Not surprisingly though are the big losers according to market share growth: BlackBerry and Symbian.

Apple won't be the big 2012 growth winner, despite iPhone 5, neither will Android

The numbers from Digitimes compare year-on-year shipments, and BlackBerry and Symbian are continuing their freefalls. Symbian shipments have dropped nearly 66% over last year, and BlackBerry saw a decline of 41%. There really isn't any hope for Symbian, but for RIM, BlackBerry 10 can't come fast enough if the carrier excitement is to be believed.

Android's growth rate is understandably slowing from 2010, when it's year-on-year growth rate was a mind-boggling 679%, but it is still by far the largest of all, and could end up being 70% of all smartphone shipments. This year, Android is looking at just under a 90% increase, which would mean somewhere around 425 million units shipped compared to 224 million in 2011.


Apple is expected to increase shipments by just 35%, but given the volume of iPhone shipments, that will still add up to 125 million units in 2012. The big surprise is that Windows Phone will have the biggest growth rate by more than doubling its shipments this year (up 108%). Of course, that only adds up to 21 million units, because WP has such a small share, but the growth rate is impressive.


source: Digitimes

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Quad-core Samsung Galaxy S III with Exynos/LTE combo in store for Germany

Who said the Exynos processor doesn't play well with LTE? Samsung stated that it will be trying to integrate 4G LTE in its own line of system chips, and has seemingly delivered in a quad-core Samsung Galaxy S III LTE that will sport the coveted 4G radio, destined for German carriers.

Now we actually doubt that Samsung is having the radio integrated, like in Qualcomm's Snapdragon chipsets, as it is too soon after the CEOs battlecry for Samsung to develop true SoCs, baseband radio integration and all, but this Exynos/LTE combo is still good to see outside the company's home turf, as it is also rumored to appear like that for Rogers in Canada.

The LTE radio working alongside Samsung's own quad-core processor apparently doesn't come cheap, though - pricing has been tipped at EUR 740, or about $940 SIM-free, which is pretty high up there, even if you consider that gear is usually at least a fifth more expensive in Europe than in the US. The Samsung Galaxy S III LTE is about to hit German carriers in October.

source: SammyHub

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MetroPCS introduces Samsung Galaxy S III to its fall lineup

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Just yesterday, MetroPCS unveiled a brand new $55 unlimited 4G LTE data, talk and text plan, and now to go with it comes the Samsung Galaxy S III. MetroPCS revealed the upcoming Galaxy S III as part of its fall lineup, planning to roll out the SGS III “later this year.”

Alongside the Android gem that the Samsung Galaxy S III is, MetroPCS is also getting a more compact Samsung-branded Gingerbread phone that stands out by being the first to come with Voice over LTE (or VoLTE) for high-quality voice calls.

MetroPCS will also add two more affordable Gingerbread devices, one made by ZTE and another one by Coolpad. The ZTE MetroPCS phone will feature a 4.3-inch display and a front facing camera, but we have no further details. The second device, the Coolpad will retail for only $149 and sport a 4-inch screen.

Now, none of these would steal the show from the Galaxy S III on MetroPCS, and actually with the S III on board and that $55 all-you-can-eat plan, you have a pretty good reason to stay with the regional carrier or even jump ship to it, don't you think?

source: PhoneScoop

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The future of mobile device design depends on nine completely random people: here's who

Remember that huge Apple versus Samsung legal fight? You simply couldn't have forgotten it – we've been writing about it in not months but already what seems like years. It's finally coming to its glorious apogee these days and we're very soon to hear who won and pretty much what the future of phone design will look like. You might think that a lot depends on Lucy Koh, the California judge nominated by Barack Obama in 2010. You might think that a lot depends on the hordes of lawyers hired by Apple and Samsung.

Truth is, the outcome of this case lies on the jury. A jury might sound authoritative, but in reality it's just nine completely random people that have spend the last few days (not weeks, not even months) in court and getting acquainted with possibly the biggest legal fight in mobile history.

“I am worried we might have a seriously confused jury here,” Judge Lucy Koh said during one of the court proceedings. “I have trouble understanding this, and I have spent a little more time with this than they have.”

We wouldn't blame the jury if they don't completely understand what's going on – we have the background and we've spent the time to look through some of the documents, but still can't brag about having a full grasp of the patent issue. So shouldn't be an expert making the decision? Whatever it will be, it will come from:

1. An electrical engineer
2. A homemaker
3. A construction worker
4. A young unemployed man who likes video games
5. An insurance agent
6. An ex-Navy avionics technician
7. A store operations manager for a cycling retailer
8. A project manager for wireless carrier AT&T
9. A benefits and payroll manager who works with startups

That is two women and seven men and while you might argue that some of the professions might suggest some form of proximity with the world of technology and patent law, some of the other professions simply have nothing in common with those two areas.

The flipside of the coin is that if you bring experts, you risk bias and democracy. But this... just feels a bit risky. Whatever the turnout, one thing is sure – both Samsung and Apple will appeal. What do you think, who should be deciding this and will the current state of things work out fine?

source: Tech Crunch, Ars Technica, Reuters

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Nikon Coolpix S800c is now official – 16MP Android camera you can play Angry Birds on

As predicted, the Nikon Coolpix S800c Android-powered camera was officially announced today. What we have on our hands is a 16-megapixel point-and-shoot cam boasting a 1/2.3 CMOS sensor with back-side illumination, 10x optical zoom, and image stabilization. Videos can be taken at 1080p, and the WPS technology allows files to be easily transferred over Wi-Fi to a smartphone or a tablet.

In case you are wondering, you cannot use the Nikon S800c as a cell phone, although we bet that the photos that it takes look better than what most smartphones can deliver. On the other hand, you can access the Google Play store in order to install applications – social networking clients, photo editing software, even Skype makes an appearance in the promotional video below. We know that the camera's OLED screen measures 3.5 inches in diagonal and has "high resolution", but further hardware specifications, such as processor make and model, remain unknown. Android 2.3 Gingerbread is what comes out of the box.

The Nikon Coolpix S800c has 680MB available for applications and about 1.7GB for storage, which can be expanded further with the use of an SD/SDHC card. The unit tips the scales at 184 grams and has a thickness of about 27 millimeters without taking the protruding optics into account. As far as battery life is concerned, don't set your hopes too high. The camera can take about 140 images with a single charge of the battery, according to official specification, which, quite frankly, isn't much.

And that's pretty much what the Nikon Coolpix S800c is. Like it or not, it is arriving to the U.S. this month for $350 and will be available in both black and white. Is anyone interested in grabbing one?


source: Nikon via Pocket-Lint

UPDATE: Using the Nikon Coolpix S800c will not require users to keep the unit on stand-by all the time, or to wait until Android boots up. The camera can be used as soon as the camera is powered on, while the operating system loads in the background. The Android user interface becomes accessible in about 30 seconds, and when put on stand-by, the device automatically shuts itself down.

source: Engadget

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Flickr for Android gets a huge update

ne of the first things that the Interwebosphere asked of Marissa Mayer when she took over as CEO of Yahoo was to fix Flickr, and to make it great again. Meyer has obviously taken that suggestion to heart as she has already doubled the number of people on the Flickr team, and now the Flickr app for Android has gotten a huge update.

The app has gotten a complete overhaul of the UI, adding the tabbar at the bottom to make it easier to navigate and find interesting content. The Explore feature has been refreshed with swipe gestures to navigate between photos. But, one of the best new options is that the app allows you to choose from any of the camera apps installed on your device to take a picture, so you can stick with the stock camera, or get fancy with an HDR app, or get faux-fancy with Instagram.

Advanced users haven't been left out either. The search function now shows HTML content in comments and descriptions, so you can easily link and add information. And, the app can also now edit metadata on images, which is a big one for pro users.

If you want to try out the new Flickr app, it's available for free in the Google Play Store.

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Jelly Bean coming to International Samsung Galaxy S III next week

The GT-i9300 is getting Jelly Bean next week. If you don't remember what phone that model number relates to, it's the International version of the Samsung Galaxy S III. This comes from sources for Android Central who are familiar with Samsung's plans. Once the August 29th Samsung Unpacked event is over (and presumably Sammy packs up), the Android 4.1 update will start rolling out across the globe, including the United Kingdom.

Besides getting the usual Jelly Bean features like Google Now, the update will also bring new features to the International Samsung Galaxy S III through TouchWiz. These include the new "dormant mode" that improves notifications and alerts, and an "easy mode" for, well, easy home screen functionality.

So where does this leave those sporting the Qualcomm S4 powered version of the sizzling hot Android smartphone? Besides being a little envious, it leaves them just a bit closer to getting Android 4.1 on their device.

source: AndroidCentral

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Asus Transformer Pad Infinity and TF300T are now getting updated Android 4.1 Jelly Bean

Asus has now started rolling out the update to Android 4.1 Jelly Bean to its Transformer Pad Infinity and TF300T tablets. Some users reported that an over-the-air update first appeared a couple of days ago and surprised them by actually bumping up the version on their tablets to Jelly Bean.

The update is gradually rolling out to users, so go on and check if you have an update pending, but don’t worry if it still hasn’t arrived for you yet - chances are that it’d come in the next few days. Just last month Asus promised the update to its tablet lineup and now it’s here:

"We are pleased to announce that we will be updating many of our tablet products to Android 4.1, Jelly Bean. The ASUS Transformer Pad, ASUS Transformer Pad Prime and ASUS Transformer Pad Infinity are all scheduled to receive an update to Jelly Bean in the coming months," Asus announced.

Android 4.1 Jelly Bean brings huge improvements in the smoothness of Android, and also introduces Google Now, a card-based system of automatic notifications, along with better Google Voice Search, an intelligent voice assistant that is faster and more accurate than Apple’s Siri.

Check out a few screen grabs from updated Asus tablets and let us know – have you received the update already?


source: Android Central forums via Pocket-lint

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Back to school 2012: your guide to smartphones

Labor day is close and you know what that means right? Get that backpack ready, the school year is about to start. You might be upset about it, or you might be happy to reunite with people you haven’t seen in the summer, but the start of the school year is also the time and place to check how much everyone’s changed. Our fellow geeks, will notice that more and more people have joined the smartphone craze, and to keep up with the times here is our guide to the best smartphones to go back to school with.

Despite giving you the list below, though, for the first time in a while, we would wholeheartedly recommend that you don’t get a phone right now. Seriously, just wait a couple of weeks, and you’d save yourself a possible disappointment.

We have a couple of reasons why. First, the iPhone 5 is coming on September 12th and it’s expected to be the biggest upgrade to the iPhone since it launched in 2007. Second, the Samsung Galaxy Note II is coming with a bigger 5.5-inch screen and an S Pen that you’d appreciate in school. Third, Windows Phone 8 will arrive with a wave of new devices finally bringing dual-core processors and HD screens to Microsoft’s platform.

But does this mean there aren’t any good devices out there at the moment? Not at all! We’ve picked five great smartphones to help you with learning (and partying) that coincidentally all happen to run on Android. It’s just the upcoming events for iOS and Windows Phone that are the reason for this, don’t hurry to see bias here. And really, if you can, just wait a couple of weeks, it’d be worth it.

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