Showing posts with label the. Show all posts
Showing posts with label the. Show all posts
Friday, May 31, 2013
Samsung Planning To Have A Mobile Unpacked Event On March 22 In The US Galaxy S IV
Source: Sammobile (1), (2)
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Thursday, May 30, 2013
Samsung Takes The Number One Spot For The First Time
Although Nokia have been going through a rather difficult spell in recent years, they have still been managing to cling on to the top spot when it comes to global sales of cellphones – until now. According to new research conducted by a number of analytics firms, Samsung have ousted Nokia from the top of the leader board.
The reports, conducted by IHS iSuppli and Strategy Analytics show that the Finnish handset maker has been unable to cling for dear life on the top spot and has finally been knocked from the perch by Samsung due to Nokia’s poor sales performances of recent times.
In the first quarter of 2012, Nokia’s market share dropped down to a low of 22.5% while Samsung raced into the lead by holding a 25.4% of the global mobile market. In the same period, Apple were sitting with a 9.5% hold, which may not seem like a great deal but considering the company only produces the iPhone, this is quite some achievement.
One of the main reasons for Nokia’s fall from the top of the cellular grace was down to the company’s low-end device sales in emerging markets dropping off, something that they were unable to offset with the sales of their top-end devices like the new Lumia range of smartphones. Neil Mawston, who operates as the Executive Director of Strategy Analytics, reminisced about Nokia’s current issues and their golden years:
Nokia’s volumes were squeezed at both ends, as low-end feature phone shipments in emerging markets stalled and high-end Microsoft Lumia smartphones were unable to offset the rapid decline of Nokia’s legacy Symbian business. Nokia was the world’s largest handset vendor between 1998 and 2011, for 14 years, before finally yielding top position to rival Samsung this quarter.
Although the statistics refer to sales of all mobile phones, the main focus of the market is currently centered around top-end smartphones, sales of which suffered in the first quarter of 2012 across all major manufacturers. As the table below from IHS shows, Apple suffered a 5% decline is sales with Samsung experiencing a change of 11% during the same period. Nokia’s woes continued as their shipments of smartphones dropped by eight million units in the first quarter.
We have been used to seeing extraordinary boom in this market, but at the minute consumers are showing a reluctance in the marketplace with overall handset sales growing by a relatively small 3.3%. One of the firms involved in the research predicts that smartphone sales will be the only ones to increase in the next twelve months, growing by an estimated 35% while sales of standard handsets will decline.
Globe Telecom offering the Nokia Lumia 610 Plan 999
The Nokia Lumia 610 is the lowest priced Windows Phone device available. It retails for Php10,990 and offers a decent kit for the price, with a 3.7-inch WVGA (480 x 800) display and 8 GB of internal storage. It also has Nokia Drive. Nokias voice guided turn by turn navigation system. It has a decent 5 MP camera, though video recording is limited to VGA quality. On the downside, it wont be upgraded to the next version of the Windows Phone operating system, Windows Phone 8. Still, that is always a tradeoff when buying entry level smartphones.
Globe Telecom is offering the Nokia Lumia 610 at Plan 999. You can get it under a consumable plan with three freebies, although a Data Add-On is required. The cheapest Data Add-On is 50 MB of data at Php99.
So for Php1,098 you can get the Nokia Lumia 610 free with:
- Php999 consumable
- 10 minutes free calls within the Globe network*
- 200 free SMS within the Globe network*
- 10 minutes free calls to other networks*
- 50 free SMS to other networks*
*You can pick a different combination of freebies.
The other option is to get it under a data plan. For Php999 you can the Nokia Lumia 610 free, with one freebie:
- Unlimited data access
- 10 minutes free calls within the Globe network
- 200 free SMS within the Globe network*
*You can pick a different freebie.
Two year lock-in period applies in either case.
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
The Nexus One end its life as an Astronaut
Remember the first Google Nexus phone, the HTC built Nexus One? It looks like the phone is ending its life as an Astronaut.
As part of a new project to lower the cost of satellites, NASA successfully launched NASAs 10cm-cubed CubeSat Satellites. The CubeSats are constructed from commercial off-the-shelf components, which each satellite costing between US$3500 and US$7000 to build. To keep the costs down, unmodified smartphones are used as the computer for the satellite. Three Android powered HTC Nexus One phones get the honor of powering the first CubeSats.
They Nexus Ones are equipped with a larger lithium-ion battery pack and a more powerful radio for transmitting data. Other than that, it really is just an off-the shelf Android phones. The phone camera is even used to capture and transmit images.
I was pretty sure I would be picking up a Samsung Galaxy S4 to replace my HTC Desire HD. Now, I really feel like maybe taking ONE more spin with HTC.
I was pretty sure I would be picking up a Samsung Galaxy S4 to replace my HTC Desire HD. Now, I really feel like maybe taking ONE more spin with HTC.
Source: CNET Australia
Friday, May 24, 2013
The PC is Here to Stay Says Intels Paul Otellini
In a recent interview with BusinessWeek, Intel CEO Paul Otellini covered a number of topics ranging from the cost of building a chip-manufacturing plant, to producing SoCs for smartphones, to the competition between Microsoft, Apple, Google and Amazon. But theres a point where they start talking about a post-PC era, and Otellini clearly acknowledges that the industry has moved away from an era of personal computers, to an era of personal computing. Still, that doesnt mean the desktop is dead.
"That means that there are going to be computers all around us and in different form factors," he said. "The PC is not going to go away anytime soon, if ever. It’s going to continue to evolve. Right now, it’s the most powerful tool you can have, but it doesn’t mean that there won’t be tablets or phones or even connected cars. The beauty of all these things is, if you get it right, the sum total of them has more value than the individual devices. That’s the model that we’re working toward."
The interview then moves on to talk about the pace of technological change. Otellini calls it evolution, describing the move from mainframes to minicomputers to the desktop PC. Intel servers have taken on supercomputing characteristics while the PC form factor has shrunk from "brick" to "ultrathin." Our phones have even gotten "smart" -- all thanks to the evolution of the microprocessor.
"Had we not done the basic work in microprocessors, for example, none of this would be possible," he said. "While there are some really interesting moments where you see great leaps forward -- and I would put the iPhone in that category -- it’s not like it was the first thing. I mean, you see this being argued out in the IP courts today: of who had a phone that was similar to that. Who had swipe gesturing 10 years ago, those kinds of things."
BusinessWeek brought up the subject of Intels late entry into the ARM-dominated smartphone sector with its own SoC. Otellini said that part of the "oh gosh Intel missed the boat" argument stems from the analyst community which, as he states, "has its own agenda." Critics are seemingly fixated on ARMs dominance rather than focusing on Intels success with high-end chips in data centers.
"They may be long on something and short on something else," he mused. "We tend not to worry about that. We just tell our story to them. There have been believers all along. They have made a lot of money, and the people that invested in us at the trough at whatever it was, $12, a few years ago have more than doubled their money, and they’re happy campers."
He goes on to describe Intels entry into the smartphone sector is a marathon, not a sprint. "The most important thing for us is to continue to grow our presence in computing, in personal computing, and in the data center, and then over time get stronger and stronger in devices," he added.
To read the full interview, head here.
Are Windows Phone and Windows RT Dead in the Water
In an interview with Bloomberg Germany, Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak said Microsoft’s Windows Phone and tablet operating systems will gain “enough critical mass to keep going with their tablets and phones.” By this time, I had expect Windows Phone to have a larger market share, and I am having a hard time sharing Mr. Wozniaks optimism.
Windows Phone. Data from IDC shows that in Quarter 4 of 2012, Windows Phone accounted for just 2.6% of the mobile phones shipped worldwide. Thus is up from 1.5% in the Quarter 4 of 2011. The numbers are not all that encouraging.
The 2.6% figure for the 4th quarter of 2012 represents 6 million smartphones. Another problematic figure is connect to this modest number. Of the 6 million Windows Phone smartphones shipped in Quarter 4 of 2012, 4.4 million were apparently Nokia Lumia phones.
With Samsung and HTC having to share in the remaining 1.6 million phones shipped, there seems to be little incentive for them to continue. Still HTC has had a long history as a Microsoft partner, and Samsung is getting bigger in the PC business.
If Windows Phone is going to gain traction, it would have to do so in Quarter 1 of 2013. The current Windows Phone devices are four or five month old designs, which I do not expect to see update for another seven or eight months. By Quarter 2 of this year, you can expect the new Android phones to cause a surge in Android phone sales. Later in the third or fourth quarter of the year, a new iPhone will see a increase in iPhone sales.
Should Quarter 1, 2013 sales of Windows Phones be lackluster, developers will have to decide if Windows Phone is worth it, given that the last quarter of 2012 and the first quarter of 2013 are likely the peak period for Windows sales.
Windows RT. Windows RT would appear to be in worse shape. Few of Microsoft OEM partners came out with RT devices. Total Windows RT device sales for 2012 appear to be less than 1 million units.
Worse, Windows RT seems now to be a superflous operating system. Windows RT was designed to run on ARM processors. But Windows RT plus ARM processors do not seem to offer any advantages over full Windows 8 tablets running on Intel Atom processors.
So, rather than trying to rake on iOS and Android in the tablet market, it would seem that Windows RTs number one competition is actually Windows 8.
So where does it go from here? Between Microsoft and Nokia Windows Phone will continue to exist for foreseeable future. Nokia is actually making money on selling phones again. What would kill Windows Phone quickly, is if Nokia decided to release Android devices. In the longer term, it will be developer support which will keep this platform alive, or end its life.
As for Windows RT, I would not be surprised if we do not see another Windows RT device released ever again.
Cheaper version of the iPhone 5
First there reports about an a cheaper Apple iPhone mini, which really did not make sense to me. For cheaper iPhones you have the 3GS, 4 and 4S. But here is a report from Mashable that does make sense.
A low cost 4-inch iPhone. App developers now have to develop apps for a 3.5-inch iPhone (2:3 aspect ratio) and a 4-inch iPhone (16:9 aspect ratio). Following Apples tradition, the iPhone 3GS should be discontinued this year with the iPhone 4 taking its place. This leaves developers with having to support two resolutions. Mating an iPhone 5 display with a lower cost processors, without LTE, equipped with cheaper cameras and reducing the internal storage to cut costs makes sense to me. It will allow Apple to retire the iPhone 4 and 4S, standardize all iPhones at one resolution and would allow Apple to offer a cheaper iPhone. This would probably make life easier for its developers, and make for more enticing products.
A iPhone mini does not make sense to me. Cheaper 4-inch iPhones with a 640 x 1136 display, make a lot of sense. Phones like this would be a mid-level offerings, and not an entry level phones.
Another option could be to make 3.5-inch phones with 320 x 568 displays, and standardized around a 16:9 aspect ratio. These could be price much cheaper. But I dont see the appeal of this type of phone with entry level Android now mowing to 4-inch and larger qHD (540 x 960) displays.
Another option could be to make 3.5-inch phones with 320 x 568 displays, and standardized around a 16:9 aspect ratio. These could be price much cheaper. But I dont see the appeal of this type of phone with entry level Android now mowing to 4-inch and larger qHD (540 x 960) displays.
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Smart Communications offers the Samsung Galaxy S4 for Pre Order Sort off
Smart Communications now has a pre-order page up for the Samsung Galaxy S4. But do not get too excited. No details are provided as to what plan the Galaxy S4 will be offered at, when it will be available and whether Smart will be offering the Exynos 5 (i9500) or Qualcomm (i9505) version.
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Surface Pro To Go On Sale In The US Canada On February 9 For 899
Source: TheVerge
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Apples Response To The Galaxy S4 Launch
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Sony Ericsson Focus On The Smartphone
Although the mobile phone market to lower middle class (low end) is very high demand in Indonesia, did not make the Sony Ericsson turned away. Company merger between Sony and Ericsson that have been aged 10 years and is now focused on the smartphone products.Djunadi Satrio, Head of Marketing at Sony Ericsson Indonesia to explain the reasons Sony Ericssons focus on the smartphone to upper middle market. He said the companys data shows that the trend of mobile phone sales in Asia Pacific, more than 50 percent of products sold are a class of smartphones. "We believe our strategy in accordance with the trend," he said.
In addition, clear Djunadi, Sony Ericsson now also focus on developing platform-based smartphone with Androidthough still will be releasing a multiplatform smartphone as its global strategy . This is also supported by trends that Android is now the largest operating in the world for smartphones.
Sony Ericsson Mango The Succesor Xperia X10 Mini
We first saw the X10 mini pro successor (codenamed "Mango", possible real name Duo) break cover when it aced a couple of benchmarks, beating a Froyo-running Nexus One. Speaking of OS versions, the XPERIA Duo is currently running Android 2.3 Gingerbread with an updated version of the small-screen UI by Sony Ericsson.
The four corners of the screen still hold shortcuts, but now each packs four shortcuts at (so something like docking a folder in the big-screen counterpart). By the looks of it the one widget per screen restriction remains though.
The Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 mini pro successor, or SK17i as its model number is, is powered by a Qualcomm processor (MSM7230 Snapdragon probably) running at near 1GHz - 800MHz or 1GHz, its not clear. What matters though is good performance, which the Duo has according to those very early benches.
Anyway, the screen on the XPERIA Duo is 3-3.2 with HVGA resolution. The camera is a 5MP snapper with HD video and theres a video-call camera too. A leak from January puts the amount of RAM at 384MB, but theres no confirmation on that.
The Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 mini pro successor was a no-show at the MWC, so we dont know when it will be announced. Were waiting for a Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 mini2 as well.
Source
Symphony of the Origin
Its been over a decade since I called myself a gamer, but in the past four months I have been adventuring through one role playing game or another. Collectively, I have put about 90 hours in the past four months exploring dungeons in Symphony of Eternity (KEMCO), dueling to the death in Chaos Rings (Square Enix) and going on a quest to stop a robopocalypse in Eve of Genesis (KEMCO). Having just completed the third final battle in Eve of Genesis, and still considering Symphony of Eternity the Gold Standard of classic JRPGs, I could not resist picking up KEMCOs latest release, Symphony of the Origin.
Symphony of the Origin is KEMCOs first game made specifically for modern smartphones. Symphony or Eternity and Eve of Genesis were ports from handheld gaming platforms. While being excellent ports, Symphony of the Origin is a step up in terms of interface and graphics quality.
While the gameplay overcame the retro style graphics of Symphony or Eternity and Eve of Genesis, I dont think anyone will be disappointed with graphics of Symphony of the Origin. It is current looking enough, but not so heavy as to require state of the art hardware. This game runs smoothly on my circa 2010 HTC Desire HD.
Having gone through the early part of the game, I am very satisfied with my purchase. The gameplay follows the elements of Symphony or Eternity, mixing in the faster battle system of Eve and changes the system of mana points and upgrades.
According to feedback at Google Play, the game has about US$5 of optional in-app purchases. Two hours into the game I still have not encountered any.
Symphony of the Origin is only available for Android right now, but it is coming soon to iOS.
Google Now Integration Coming To The Chrome Browser In The Future
Source: Engadget
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Tuesday, May 21, 2013
xShield Is The iPhone Case Which Protects More Than Just The Physical State Of You Phone
"An iPhone Case Which Does More Than Protecting Your Phone From Physical Damage"PRESS RELEASE
Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) February 06, 2013
The world’s first cell phone case that provides a way to carry an iPhone5 and keep credit cards safe from electronic pickpocketing will hit the market Thursday.
Xshield™ is an attractive, intelligently designed case that stores an iPhone5 and important items like identification and drivers licenses, passport cards and credit cards. And, it provides protection from credit card and identification skimming.
“Our society has found more and more ways to utilize technology to make everyday tasks a bit easier. Unfortunately, thieves are using the same technology to steal private information, too,” said Arvin Younan, an expert in the field of security products and services who developed the Xshield™.
Integrated circuit cards (RFID –IC cards) can store various information and data like your name, address, job title and other personal or important financial records. These cards are becoming more widely used in the United States, Canada, and many other countries.
Many types of identification cards – including credit cards, passports cards, work (or employee) security cards and drivers’ licenses in some states in US and Canada and abroad – are equipped with radio frequency identification chips which allow users to wave the card near a scanner instead of sliding a magnetic stripe through a device.
Identify thieves can capture data from these RFID cards using a relatively low-tech device. According to U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Customs and Border Protection Agency, the cards can be read up to 50 feet away.
“Thieves don’t need a lot of technical ability to steal someone’s identity or personal financial information from a RFID card,” said Younan. “Fortunately, products like the Xshield™ provide protection from unscrupulous individuals who make victims of innocent people.”
The Xshield™ blocks the radio frequency identification signal from being read by skimming devices thieves attached to their laptops, tablets and smart phones or a handheld device which can read and copy data instantly. The Xshield™ blocks such signals from any distance.
“My motivation for this project was to design a fashionable Iphone5 wallet case to give you peace of mind and protection from would-be credit card skimmers,” Younan said.
Along with providing protection from e-pickpocketers, the Xshield™ case allows complete access to all the features of the iPhone5, including the front and rear cameras. Made of high-quality leather and canvas, the Xshield™ provides not only security, but a fashionable, minimalist wallet-sized way to carry items vital for home, office and recreation. It’s thinner than most cell phone cases and most wallets.
“Most of the time, people carry a wallet, a purse, a cell phone, keys and money. I wanted to design something that would combine all these things and provide peace of mind by blocking personal data from RFID or IC card skimmers,” Younan said.
The Xshield™ has other handy features, including:
-A magnetic space to secure and easily remove the iPhone5.
-An optional strap so the Xshield™ can be worn around the neck or wrist.
-A magnet so it can be attach to metal surfaces for hands-free talking on the iPhone5.
-A choice of two stylish colors: dark gray/black or white/red.
Preorders for the Xshield™ may be made at http://www.fornelo.com. The wallet case retails for $99 however for a limited time and quantitiesthe Xshield™ will be available at a discounted price. Dealers can also apply for wholesale pricing for the Xshield™ at the site.
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Apple following the steps of Samsung iPhone5
If it’s not the new iPad, it’s rife rumor regarding the upcoming next-gen iPhone that’s keeping Apple in the news just now. The device, which is thought to be receiving a longer screen, will also be getting a mighty quad-core processor, if a report originating from DigiTimes is to be taken as Gospel.
The blogosphere has become used to taking DigiTimes coverage with a pinch of salt – primarily because many of the big leaks stem from unspecified sources, and this latest report doesn’t break the habit of a lifetime.
The iPhone is credited with changing the face of the modern-day smartphone, but after sticking with the same ethos throughout in terms of screen size and general power (i.e. good quality, but not eye-watering), it appears the fruit company is now playing catch-up with rivals.
A quad-core processor would be quite a bump from the current dual-core A5 chip offered with the iPhone 4S, and would also boast more power than the third gen iPad which, despite offering quad-core graphics, is still only a dual-core A5X processor.
DigiTimes being DigiTimes, I can’t say I believe this one, especially since my current iPhone 4S has been running for months, with numerous games and apps, yet without so much as a second of lag. I’m more inclined to believe Tim Cook’s company will opt for the A5X once again, which would still be fast, and allow for smooth gaming on the slightly larger screen
Of course, I could be wrong, and given Apple’s apparent push towards the larger screen, a quad-core processor wouldn’t be a massive shock. Still, although the company appears to have gone with the flow in increasing the display real-estate, a new chip exceeding the A5X would seem like too much of a leap, while also not being particularly necessary.
As with most Apple products, we’ll likely only know in the days leading up to the announcement what the next iPhone – dubbed the "iPhone 5" – will include. Although LTE would seem a foregone conclusion given the iPad implementation, the only other aspect we could presume without doubt to be a feature, is iOS 6, which was announced last month at WWDC 12.
Of course, I will be keeping you updated with anything I pick up in the meanwhile, though, so stay tuned!
Outlook com App For Android Updated With A New UI The Update Ive Been Waiting For
- Outlook.com App For Android
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Monday, May 20, 2013
Official Android 4 1 2 ROM For Galaxy S II Leaked Jellybean Goodness Coming To The Former Flagship
Source: Pocketnow
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