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Apple and Samsung Tighten Control of U.S. Smartphone Market

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January 6, 2013

Apple and Samsung continue to dominate the U.S. smartphone market, according to a new report from Tavis McCourt, technology analyst for financial services firm Raymond James. While iPhone retention remains roughly 86 percent, Samsung is consolidating the Android space domestically as it has already successfully achieved in much of the European market. Continue reading Apple and Samsung Tighten Control of U.S. Smartphone Market

Walt Mossberg Looks Ahead to Personal Tech in 2013

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January 3, 2013

In a five-minute video report on the Wall Street Journal, Walt Mossberg discusses four personal technology topics that he believes may prove to be significant trends in the coming year, including a new era of smart TVs, more affordable smartphones and mobile plans, a new wave of more expensive music players and new health and fitness gadgets and accompanying apps. Additionally we should expect to see more tablets and more use of the cloud. Continue reading Walt Mossberg Looks Ahead to Personal Tech in 2013

NPD Study: Consumers Slow to Adopt Apps on Smart TVs

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January 1, 2013

Research organization NPD estimates that approximately 25 million U.S. households currently have smart TVs. While nearly six out of 10 owners are using their smart TVs to watch over-the-top video services such as Netflix and Hulu Plus, and roughly 15 percent are accessing music services like Pandora, the majority of Americans are not utilizing applications beyond streaming video and music. The latest NPD Connected Intelligence Application & Convergence report suggests the Internet connected HDTV screen has yet to reach beyond its TV-centric heritage. Continue reading NPD Study: Consumers Slow to Adopt Apps on Smart TVs

CES 2013: Windows Phone 8 Devices and Hybrid from Huawei

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December 18, 2012

Huawei may possibly launch its long-awaited Windows Phone 8 handsets during CES in January. There is also speculation that the company will debut a 5-inch smartphone/tablet hybrid featuring a 1080p screen. “Huawei was one of the hardware partners listed by Microsoft when it revealed its new operating system in June, however despite a few leaks, the premier device from the Chinese manufacturer hasn’t officially appeared yet,” reports Digital Trends. “This could all change at CES, and Huawei could spearhead the second wave of phones running Windows Phone 8 with two new devices.” Continue reading CES 2013: Windows Phone 8 Devices and Hybrid from Huawei

CES 2013: Samsung and LG to Debut Flexible Smartphone Screens?

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December 18, 2012

Will the flexible smartphone screen change the face of mobile phone design in 2013 and mark the biggest change since the introduction of the touchscreen? Rumors suggest manufacturing rivals Samsung and LG are working on it. Speculation regarding flexible display development dates back to 2002, and in the last six years we’ve seen some interesting prototypes and low volume products at CES featuring E-ink and Electronic Paper Display technologies. To address slow response times (especially with video) and challenges with handling color, flexible OLED displays emerged. Continue reading CES 2013: Samsung and LG to Debut Flexible Smartphone Screens?

Consumer Study Points to iPhones and iPads for Holiday Wishlists

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December 17, 2012
  • According to data from research firm Parks Associates, consumers have Apple devices on their holiday wishlists this year.
  • Parks reports that 53 percent of prospective smartphone purchasers plan to buy an iPhone for the holidays, compared with 33 percent who indicated the same in the third quarter and 24 percent one year ago.
  • “And when it comes to tablets, most of those surveyed said they’d prefer an iPad,” reports AllThingsD. “Following the iPad at 44 percent was Kindle Fire, with 24 percent of consumers expressing interest in Amazon’s touchscreen tablet.”
  • “Twenty-one percent of those surveyed said they’d go with the Microsoft Surface tablet — down from the 45 percent who just a few months ago said they wanted the Surface — and the Google Nexus tablet came in last at 12 percent.”
  • Additionally, Parks notes, “When presented with the iPad mini as a tablet alternative, many of those planning on purchasing other tablet brands opt for the iPad mini.” And among those planning on buying an iPad, 40 percent said they would opt for an iPad mini.
  • The smartphone portion of the Parks survey focused on brands only, not individual models, so it is not clear which version (and price point) of iPhone is enticing consumers.

Report Predicts the Cloud as Top Consumer Trend for 2013

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December 17, 2012

Cloud computing (and cloud reliance reshaping device needs) will be the major trend in consumer electronics for 2013, according to a new report from Ericsson ConsumerLab. “The electronics firm’s ‘Ten Hot Consumer Trends 2013‘ report suggests that not only is cloud computing becoming increasingly important in our daily lives, but young people’s use of the Internet will drive new businesses and products in the coming year,” reports CNET. Continue reading Report Predicts the Cloud as Top Consumer Trend for 2013

Xiaomi Takes a Slice of the Smartphone Pie

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December 13, 2012
  • Just three years into its existence, Chinese smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi Technology has a $4 billion valuation and has garnered “Apple-like adoration” from loyal fans, reports Reuters.
  • Founder Lei Jun, 42, helped shape China’s Internet revolution when he co-founded and sold Joyo.cn to Amazon before moving on to Xiaomi Technology. At Xiaomi, Lei has become a Steve Jobs-like figure, as he has marketed his product simply, but in a way that generates “an aura of exclusivity around its products,” notes the article.
  • When addressing comparisons to Jobs, Lei says, “I will take this as a compliment but such kind of comparison brings us huge pressure.”
  • “Xiaomi and Apple are two totally different companies,” he continues. “Xiaomi’s based on the Internet. We are not doing the same thing as Apple.”
  • The company released its second phone in October and has sold 300,000 units. The phone is comparable to Samsung’s Galaxy S3 and Apple’s iPhone 5, but sells for only $370.
  • “Unlike the big domestic smartphone players, such as Lenovo Group, ZTE Corp and Huawei Technologies, which work with telecom carriers to sell a large volume of smartphones, Xiaomi sells most of its phones online and in small batches,” writes Reuters. By limiting quantity and selling in small batches, Xiaomi creates buzz. This demand led to Xiaomi selling its entire batch of 50,000 smartphones in less than two minutes in October.
  • China is expected to pass the United States as the number one smartphone market within the year, but some people still believe the market will be controlled by market leaders ZTE and Huawei, and that Xiaomi’s small scale strategy will hurt its long term outlook.

TIME Lists Top 10 Gadgets of the Year: iPhone 5 Takes Top Spot

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December 13, 2012
  • Although Apple may have to cede the top spot on smartphone sales, its iPhone 5 still sits at No. 1 in terms of overall device and operation system quality, earning the coveted TIME Magazine ‘gadget of the year’ award.
  • “TIME’s Harry McCracken calls the iPhone 5 ‘one of the most artfully polished gadgets anyone’s ever built,’ adding that ‘when it comes to melding hardware, software and services so tightly that the seams fade away, Apple still has no peer,'” VentureBeat reports.
  • “Despite 5 million units sold in its opening weekend, and stellar sales results that catapulted iOS back into the mobile operating system lead in November, the iPhone 5 probably can’t catch the Samsung Galaxy S III, which launched in the summer and reached 18 million units by early November,” the article continues.
  • Apple did not, however, gain recognition from TIME for its iPads, even though the new iPad mini earned a warm welcome by many in October.
  • TIME‘s top 10 gadgets are as follows: 1) iPhone 5, 2) Nintendo Wii U, 3) Sony Cyber-shot RX100, 4) Raspberry Pi Model B, 5) Lytro, 6) Apple 15-inch MacBook Pro with Retina Display, 7) Microsoft Surface with Windows RT, 8) Samsung Galaxy Note II, 9) Nest, and 10) Simple.TV.

Tech Industry Calls on Congress to Allocate More Mobile Spectrum

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December 12, 2012
  • A team of tech companies including Apple, Samsung, and Nokia has submitted a letter to Congress requesting that it allocate more spectrum for mobile data, reports The Verge.
  • The letter argues the spectrum addition “is timely and relevant” to discuss alongside fiscal cliff debates.
  • “Now is the time to ensure the incentive auctions are as robust and successful as possible at liberating spectrum,” reads the letter. “We should also turn our collective attention on ways to reap the economic benefits of underutilized federal spectrum assets.”
  • “Other signatories include Intel, RIM, Qualcomm, Alcatel-Lucent, Cisco, and Ericsson, all of which are members of the High Tech Spectrum Coalition,” notes the post. “The group believes that upcoming spectrum auctions won’t meet the demand for wireless broadband, nor will it be possible to ‘engineer our way out of this problem’ with more efficient technology.”
  • The letter asks Congress to urge spectrum holders to “become more efficient, to share with one another, to vacate, or to lease their spectrum.”
  • An earlier report this year also recommended the government consider sharing spectrum with commercial partners, since it’s “increasingly difficult to find desirable spectrum that can be vacated by federal users.”

Mobile Video Calling Creates New Frontier as Technologies Improve

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December 11, 2012
  • “As the cameras and screens of smartphones and tablets improve, and as wireless networks offer higher bandwidth, more companies are getting into the business of enabling mobile video calls,” reports The New York Times, noting that the rise has been so quick that analysts have yet to compile numbers.
  • In 2011, Microsoft acquired video calling service Skype. Similarly, Apple developed its own FaceTime feature to sell the iPad and in September expanded the service beyond just Wi-Fi to cellular networks.
  • Google’s free video calling service Hangouts on its social network Google Plus allows up to ten people to video conference, and it features more than 200 apps. Just last week, Yahoo purchased its own video chat service OnTheAir. Tango Mobile is yet another video calling service, which has attracted 80 million active users and sees 200,000 join daily, according to CTO and co-founder Eric Setton.
  • Microsoft has incorporated Skype into its Windows 8 mobile phones, allowing people to receive calls even when the app isn’t running. Google is interested in “making money on the applications, but in learning more about them so it can sell more ads by getting people to use [Hangouts],” notes the article.
  • “Don’t expect video calling to improve productivity. Tango uses the same technology that enables video calls to sell games that people can play simultaneously,” the article states. “Google says some jokey applications on Hangouts, like a feature that can put a mustache over each caller, seem to encourage people to talk longer.”
  • “Tango’s average video call used to last six minutes, Mr. Setton said, but when the company started adding other applications to go with the videos, like games and designs that float over people, the average call length rose to 12 minutes.”

CES 2013: Samsung to Possibly Unveil 4.99-inch 1080p Touchscreen

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November 28, 2012

Samsung may unveil its own smartphone-sized 1080p display during January’s CES in Las Vegas, on the heels of HTC’s Droid DNA. “Full high definition displays are all set to be next year’s must-have new smartphone feature, although their size will see them used on hardware that tips over into smartphone/tablet hybrid territory,” reports Digital Trends. Continue reading CES 2013: Samsung to Possibly Unveil 4.99-inch 1080p Touchscreen

Firmware Update for Sony Bravia TVs adds Twitter, Facebook, YouTube HD

By
December 6, 2011
  • Sony announced it has updated firmware for its Bravia LCD TV sets, enabling viewers to get tweets, post on Facebook and watch hi-def videos via YouTube HD.
  • Bravias have also added compatibility with a version of the Remote Keyboard application, previously available only on Vaio PCs and Xperia smartphones.
  • “Finally, you can now get live Twitter updates along the bottom of your screen and even use a Shazam like feature called Track ID to determine the names of songs, or their artists, that are played during your shows or commercials,” reports Engadget.
  • The press release emphasizes keyboard compatibility: “You can already use your smartphone or Vaio keyboard to control your TV and surf the Web — and now you can use other laptops too. From typing a Web address to searching for information about the latest movies, it makes entering text on-screen even easier than using your TV remote.”
  • The free update is currently available for those with compatible Bravia TVs.

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