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  • MWC 2012: Sony Unveils Xperia S, Xperia U and Xperia P

    Sony has just announced the latest models from Xperia NTS series at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona: Xperia P, Xperia U and Xperia S – the ultimate HD smartphone, which is now shipping to markets across the globe with first sales in the Sony Style store in Barcelona.

    Xperia P and Xperia U will be available starting from the second quarter of this year.

    Xperia P – Main Features

    • 4-inch Reality Display with image processor Mobile BRAVIA Engine
    • Screen technology, WhiteMagic, for enhanced light and consume efficiency function through intelligent brightness control
    • 1 GHz dual-core processor and 16 GB storage capacity
    • 8-megapixel camera with fast capture function, HD shooting and Sony technology for 2D and 3D panoramic images
    • HDMI and DLNA connectivity
    • NFC technology (Near Field Communication) that provides access to an ever-growing environment of NFC applications and services
    • Available in silver, black and red, with an aluminum body
    • Released on Android 2.3 Gingerbread, but will receive the upgrade to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich in the second quarter of this year

    Xperia U – Main Features

    • 3.5-inch Reality Display with image processor Mobile BRAVIA Engine
    • 1 GHz dual-core processor
    • 5-megapixel camera with fast capture function, HD shooting and Sony technology for 2D and 3D panoramic images
    • High quality sound through the new audio technologies xLoud and 3D surround
    • Available in white or black, with pink and yellow interchangeable head
    • Released on Android 2.3 Gingerbread, but will receive the upgrade to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich in the second quarter of this year

  • Alcatel-Lucent Takes Over Number Two Spot From Juniper

    Synergy Research Group announced the publication of the 4Q11 Carrier Infrastructure Market Share report that  provides quarterly market shares for Service Provider Core Routers, Edge Routers, and Carrier Ethernet Switches.

    According the the report, the fourth quarter of 2011 saw carrier infrastructure revenues hovering around the $3 billion mark for the third successive quarter. Full-year 2011 revenues showed a 3.5% uptick from 2010, although 4Q11 revenues were actually down almost 10% against 4Q10, when the market spiked upwards.

    Cisco finished 2011 with a 51% market share in the final quarter and a 50% share of full-year revenues.

    One of the big stories in the quarter was Alcatel-Lucent zipping past Juniper to take over the number two spot in the market share ranking — a feat it has managed in only twice in the last four years. While Alcatel-Lucent grew its revenues strongly from the previous quarter, Juniper's revenues declined substantially, giving Alcatel-Lucent a clear market share lead of 2.7 percentage points in the quarter. For the full year Juniper did maintain its number two ranking, with a market share of 18.2% versus 16.8% for Alcatel-Lucent.

    "Digging into the details, Alcatel-Lucent can thank much of its quarterly revenue growth to a strong performance in the EMEA region, where it increased its market share to over 25%. Juniper can also thank the EMEA region for providing it some bright sparks in a tough quarter — it saw both sequential and year-on-year revenue gains to achieve a 22% regional market share in the final quarter," said Jeremy Duke, Founder & Chief Analyst, Synergy Research Group.

    "Conversely Cisco saw its EMEA market share drop to an all-time low of just 43%. However, there was plenty of good news for Cisco in the quarter, including a market share gain in the high-growth APAC region, increasing its share of the worldwide service provider core router market to almost 65%, and increasing its share of a declining North American edge router and switch market — to levels it hasn't achieved in over three years," he said.

  • Increased Demand for Smartphones in Europe

    Demand for mobile phones increased again in Europe, last year – mostly due to the growing popularity of smartphone. According to the findings of the latest study conducted by the research company GfK, 3.2% more mobile phones were sold in 2011, the sales of smartphones increased by 67%.

    Last year, 258 million handsets were bought by European consumers, a 3.2% increase on 2010.

    In what concerns the smartphone segment, the number of devices sold in 25 European countries surveyed was 93 million. If in 2010, smartphones represented only 22% of sales in the mobile market, in 2011 the percentage increased to 36% – so that in December 2011 the share rised to 45%.

    Retailers in all 25 monitored countries in Europe showed double-digit sales ranging from 35% in Britain and 105% in Eurasian countries such as Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine. With a share in unit volume of over 17%, the UK is currently the largest market for smartphones in Europe, followed by Germany, Austria and Switzerland, with 16% in total. The average price paid for a mobile phone has increased in Europe by 8% between 2010 and 2011 – up to EUR 200.

    GfK retail expert predicts that the digital devices industry – including mobile phones, TVs, computers, digital cameras, tablet PCs and desktop devices – this year will reach 22% of its global sales only from the sales of smartphones. This would mean an increase of 4 percentage points over the figure recorded in 2011.

    The current analysis is based on data on the growth of mobile market in 2011 from 25 countries: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine and United Kingdom.

  • Google Launches Chrome for Android

    Google announced the development of Chrome browser for the Android platform. Chrome Beta will be available in Android Market in the next few days for the phones and tablets running the Ice Cream Sandwich version of the Android OS. For now, Chrome for Android Beta will be available in English, French, German, Spanish and Portuguese.

    Like the desktop version, Chrome for Android Beta is based on speed and simplicity. The browser includes connection and synchronization functions in order to have the same personalized experience of browsing the Internet wherever you go, on any device.

    When initiating a new search, the main results are loaded in the background as you type; in this way, results are displayed more quickly. Of course, both searching and browsing can be done quickly from the address bar too, as in the desktop version.

    The tabs have also been redesigned and they are well suited to a phone or tablet with both small and large screen. User can now make the transition between an unlimited number of pages, with a very simple movement.

    Chrome for Android Beta is said to solve one of the most unpleasant things in mobile browsing: selecting the correct link between multiple links on a small screen device. User will no longer have to select links on a website, because Link Preview automatically zooms on links, becoming easy to select a particular link.

    Like the desktop version, Chrome for Android Beta includes incognito browsing mode and advanced privacy settings.

    Google has not announced if and when will adjust Chrome for other versions of Android.

    More details can be found here.

  • Windows Phone 8, Detailed in a Massive Leak

    Pocketnow.com managed to take a look at a video presentation of the future Windows Phone 8, in which Joe Belfiore, Windows Phone Senior Vice President at Microsoft, speaks to Nokia partners and from which results major changes that will affect the platform in the fall.

    Along with the leak from pocketnow.com, Paul Thurott hurried up to partially confirm the information he had in a blog post (probably under NDA).

    Basically, Windows Phone 8 – which will be called Apollo as it has been speculated for a long time – will be an important step from the current Windows Phone 7.5 from, actually, all points of view.

    DataSmart: Optimizing Data Connection
    Those who own a Windows Phone definitely know that the management module for data connection is not very intelligent and that sometimes the user has to insist until the phone connects/reconnects to a Wi-Fi. This is why in Windows Phone 8 will appear an option called DataSmart that will make order on how data connections are used. First of all it will focus on optimizing and prioritizing connections via Wi-Fi when available instead of 3G. In the Local Scout channel in Bing Maps will be provided detailed information about hotspots.

    Even more interesting is that Internet Explorer 10 will be able to use a proxy server feature through which data will come optimized, similar to the current option in Opera mobile.

    Support for the Business Section
    It was expected that at some point the BitLocker feature will reach the mobile platform too. It seems that Windows Phone 8 will have that and it will use the same 128-bit encryption technology seen on the PC version.

    Detailed information is very important and shows an interesting direction towards which Microsoft wants to go with Windows Phone, but what is not said yet is: Would the current Windows Phone devices have any chance to upgrade to Windows Phone 8 in the upcoming fall?

  • Samsung Galaxy S Advance Unveiled

    Samsung proposes a new smartphone in the Galaxy portfolio – Samsung Galaxy S Advance. With a 1.0 GHz dual-core processor and HSPA connectivity of 14.4 Mbps, the terminal provides power and connectivity, flexibility and an interface with high response rate, ideal for multitasking. Starting the applications will be made faster, while the user experience is being enhanced by the smoother transition of the on-screen images, faster image processing and better download performance and Web browsing.

    The new smartphone comes with the Android 2.3 Gingerbread, also offering a 4” Super AMOLED display 480×800 WVGA, 5-megapixel camera on back and a 1.3-megapixel front camera, 768 MB RAM and 16 GB storing capacity.

    Equipped with Samsung's TouchWiz, GALAXY S Advance offers users the ability to be constantly connected through Samsung Hubs and ChatON services. Music Hub provides access to over 11 million songs and gets every user to personalize their music catalog. Readers Hub provides access to over 2.3 million e-books, 3,500 magazines and 200 newspapers, while the popular network Game Hub provides access to thousands of games, plus games related news feeds.

    The ChatON communication platform connects all Samsung smartphone users in a single community using numbers instead of usernames and passwords, ensures instant messaging, group chat and sharing of content in various formats – images, video, contacts, calendar – in order to send and receive messages easier and more intuitive than ever.

    GALAXY S Advance also features the Find My Mobile service, a unique management system for lost mobile phones, which ensures security of the encrypted files in case of loss, and allows users to detect the phone directly from the Internet or even to delete data remotely.

    Samsung GALAXY S Advance Product Specifications

    Network                                      HSPA  14.4Mbps  850/900/1900/2100
                                                          EDGE/GPRS  850/900/1800/1900

    Process                                      1 GHz Dual-Core Processor

    Display                                        4.0” WVGA(480×800) Super AMOLED display

    OS                                                Android 2.3(Gingerbread)

    Camera                                       Main(Rear) : 5 Megapixel Auto Focus Camera with LED Flash
                                                          Sub(Front) : 1.3 Megapixel Camera

    Video                                           Codec : MPEG4, H.263, H.264, WMV, DivX, VC-1
                                                          Recording/ Playback : 720@30fps

    Audio                                           Codec : MP3, AAC, AAC＋, eAAC＋, WMA, AC3
                                                          Music Player with SoundAlive
                                                          3.5mm Ear Jack, Stereo FM Radio with RDS

    Value-added Features             Samsung TouchWiz/ Samsung L!ve Panel UX
                                                          Samsung Apps
                                                          Samsung Kies 2.0/ Samsung Kies air/ AllShare
                                                          ChatON(Downloadable via Samsung Apps)
                                                          Readers Hub(Downloadable via Samsung Apps)
                                                          Music Hub
                                                          Game Hub
                                                       ＊Service availability differs by region

    GoogleTM Mobile Services    Android Market™, Gmail™, YouTube™, Google Maps™,
                                                          Syncing with Google Calendar™
                                                          Polaris Office
                                                          Find My Mobile
                                                          A-GPS

    Connectivity                               Bluetooth® technology v 3.0 High Speed
                                                          USB 2.0
                                                          Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n

    Sensor                                        Proximity, Accelerometer, Geomagnetic, Light, Gyroscope

    Memory                                      8/16GB User memory ＋ 768MB(RAM)
                                                          microSD (up to 32GB)

    Size                                              123.2 x 63.0 x 9.69 mm, 120g

    Battery                                        Standard battery, Li-ion 1,500mAh

  • The 2012 Global Mobile Awards Nominations

    The GSMA announced nominees for the 17th annual Global Mobile Awards. The winners will be presented on Tuesday, 28th February at the GSMA Mobile World Congress. In total, 158 nominees have been shortlisted.

    For 2012, the GSMA introduced 18 new awards, with notable developments in categories such as ‘Apps of the Year’, ‘Mobile Innovation’, ‘Mobile Marketing and Advertising’, and ‘Social and Economic Development’. In addition, the ‘Best New Mobile Handset, Device or Tablet at the Mobile World Congress’ will be selected from those on show at the annual mobile event.

    Here are the nominees:

    Best smartphone
    Apple iPhone 4S
    HTC Desire S
    Nokia Lumia 800
    Samsung Galaxy Nexus
    Samsung Galaxy S II

    Best Feature or Entry Level Phone
    Nokia C2-03
    Nokia C3-00
    Nokia C3-01
    Samsung Ch@t 335 (Samsung S3350)

    Best Mobile Tablet
    Acer Iconia Tab A500/501
    Amazon Kindle Fire
    Apple iPad 2
    Asus Eee Pad Transformer
    Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1

    Best Consumer Application
    Facebook Messenger
    Talking Tom Cat 2
    Angry Birds Rio
    Blast Monkeys
    Hanging With Friends

    Best Enterprise Application
    Cisco AnyConnect
    GoToMeeting
    Citrix Receiver
    Share Plus: SharePoint Mobile Client
    Forsquare

    Best Application – jury selection
    Evernote
    FlipBoard
    Google Maps
    LinkedIn
    WhatsApp

    Most Innovative Application
    biNu
    Divide
    Google Wallet
    Thrutu (TM)
    Shazam App
    SwiftKey X

    You may also want to read:
    New Samsung Smartphones with One Single Recharge a Day
    Apple iPhone, Partly Built By 13-Year-Olders for 70 Cents per Hour
    2012 Brings 2.5 Million New Viruses. The Main Target: Android Smartphones

  • New Samsung Smartphones with One Single Recharge a Day

    Samsung has made some promises this year at CES 2012. Let’s see if they are able to keep them until the end of this year. Many, if not almost all the smartphones of today fail to stay charged even a day-light.

    Since the processors have become dual-core or even quad-core, the amount of memory and the display size have increased as well as internet access speeds, it is increasingly difficult, if not impossible, for a mobile phone to resist even 6-8 hours on a single recharge. How many of you carry in your pocket the battery charger or have at least 2 – one at work and one at home?

    "The company's goal for all smartphones launched this year is to last a whole day on a single recharge for a moderate to extensive use," said Kevin Packingham, Vice President of Samsung on the segment of Innovations, during an interview with CNET at CES 2012. Good news, right? We understand that the new models allow surfing the Internet for 2-3 hours, calls of at least 1-2 hours and probably 1-2 hours of music without getting discharged by the afternoon?

    Packinham said the steps are quite simple; first it will move to a bigger battery for all the models and it will be working on a new way of managing resources when the phone is not used directly by the user. Since the modification time in which the phone goes from WiFi on 3G or how many applications will be open in the background, along with the size of the battery, it is assumed that they will reach a far better average than before. Packingham says that power-users will still have problems with the battery.

  • Apple iPhone, Partly Built By 13-Year-Olders for 70 Cents per Hour

    Not many people know that the popular iPhone and iPad are made in unbelievable working conditions. According to a report conducted by NPR, some of those working in production are 12, 13 or 14 years old.

    Foxconn, the factory where parts of Apple terminals are made, is located in the Chinese city of Shenzhen, with a population that exceeds New York – over 13 million people. Factory workers are more than 430,000.

    What surprised NPR reporters is that they met many children at the entrance. Apparently, Foxconn employers ignore age when hiring, even when they have less than 14 years old. The reporters  estimated that 5% of Chinese people working in manufacturing are minors. They suspect that Apple's U.S. representatives must know this or, if they don't, it's because they don't want to know being concerned about the price of production to remain as low as possible.

    According to NPR, at the Foxconn factory as well as other factories in Shenzhen, employees are working in halls with a capacity of 30,000 people. Work is done exclusively by hand, and the room is always quiet, because people are not allowed to speak. Workers are watched by cameras and have no right to create trade unions.

    On the move, reporters saw a former employee of Foxconn factory. He has broken his hand in a metal press, but has not been provided with medical care. Moreover, when he got back to work he did not have the same dexterity, so the man was fired. One reporter showed an iPad to the former employee and despite the fact that he worked for years in production the man had never seen such a device.

    NPR reporters claim that Foxconn employees earn about $250 per month. According to Reuters, their salary is $298 per month. Considering the fact that they are working over 15 hours a day, they are paid with less than 1 dollar per hour.

    You may also want to read:
    2012 Brings 2.5 Million New Viruses. The Main Target: Android Smartphones
    CES 2012: Intel Sets New Standards in Smartphones and Tablets
    LG Optimus 3D and Nokia X7: The Battle Continues!

  • Samsung Wants to Improve the Autonomy of Its Smartphones

    For a user of the latest smartphones, several-day autonomy is an impossible to achieve ideal. Components have been miniaturized and ought to be more space for the battery. Unfortunately, the market demands phones as thin as possible, so that the battery still cannot exceed a certain physical limit.

    Moreover, processors have gained extra megahertz and cores, the autonomy being sacrificed at the expense of performance as high as possible. In conditions of moderate to intense use, the owner of a top smartphone can end the day with low battery, although it was charged the night before.

    https://smartphone.biz-news.com/news/tags/en_US/Samsung has decided that in 2012 will do something in this regard. The main ways of dealing with this problem will be to increase battery capacity and to increase the smartphone’s radio modules efficiency. An example in this regard is being given by the https://smartphone.biz-news.com/news/tags/en_US/Motorola RAZR MAXX, which differs from the previous model by the fact that the 1780 mAh battery has been replaced with one of 3,300 mAh. We definitely applaud this move, but we cannot ignore the fact that the terminal thickness increased by 2 mm and the weight with 18 g.

    Even sadder is the fact that an entry-level or mainstream smartphone doesn’t come with a better autonomy.  You would expect that a phone with 1 GHz processor and 3.2-inch display to offer a higher working time than a 1.2 GHz dual-core processor and a 4.3-inch screen. In reality, things are different, because rarely can be found an affordable smartphone that it’s being charged at every two days.