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  • Apple Falls While Samsung and Android Take the Lead in USA

    Google and Samsung have managed to surpass Apple and its products, iOS, iPhone and iPad, ok the U.S. market, as the latest statistics are showing.

    Out of the 82 million Americans who own a smartphone, most devices (41.8%) are running the Android operating system developed by Google. Apple, with its IOS, ranked second with a market share of 27%, while the third place was occupied by Research in Motion (21.7%), with the operating system designed for their Blackberry.

    Interestingly, while Google gained 5.4% since April 2011, Apple's share grew by only 1%, and RIM has lost 4%. The last two places in the ranking are occupied by Microsoft and Symbian, which have 5.7% and 1.9%, respectively, of the market share.

    Samsung, market leader

    In the smartphones brands rankings, on the first place is Samsung, with a slightly increased market share compared to April 2011, from 24.5% to 25.5%. In second place is LG, which has stagnated at 20.9%, while the third place is occupied by Motorola with a decrease in the market share of 1.5%, from 15.6% to 14.1%. Apple was ranked only the fourth, with a market share increased by 1.2%, from 8.3% to 9.5%. The top is completed by RIM with a share down by 0.6%, from 8.2 to 7.6%.

    SMS, vital for Americans

    Another interesting ranking shows that the Americans are using the phone, beyond the calls, mainly to send text messages, in 70% of the cases. The percentage of those who surf the internet on their smartphone has increased from 39.1% to 41.1% and just the same as the percentage of those who download applications, up from 37.8% to 40.6%.
    The study shows, on the other hand, that 30.1% of the Americans who own a mobile phone are accessing social networks and blogs, 27.8% are playing games on the phone, while 20.3% are listening to music.

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  • Samsung Announces Galaxy S II LTE, With 1.5GHz Processor and Larger Screen and the new ChatOn Service

    Samsung has officially announced the versions equipped with the LTE 4G technology of its Samsung Galaxy S II smartphone, but also of its Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9.

    Beyond the higher speed of data transfer, Samsung’s new Galaxy S II comes with very important changes to the standard version, such as the more powerful dual core processor, at 1.5 GHz.

    The screen of the Samsung Galaxy S II LTE has also increased from 4.3 inches to a WVGA Super AMOLED Plus of 4.5 inches. The casing has also suffered several modifications. Its textured back, made of plastic, seems to have been replaced by a metal surface, while the form of Home key is also different.

    Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 LTE will also offer higher data transfer speed in the network and will come, as in the case of Galaxy S II LTE, with a better processor – a 1.5GHz dual core.

    While more details about the new Samsung gadgets will definitely be disclosed during the IFA 2011, we should turn our attention to another announcement Samsung has made today, namely the launch of free communication service that allows users to interact with any mobile phone.

    Samsung Electronics has launched today the ChatOn application, a global communication service of Samsung, compatible with most of the current smartphones and platforms. ChatOn allows users to interact with anyone regardless of the platform used by the phone. Users can form groups of conversation, while the Web client will provide an easy data transfer and conversations between smartphones and PCs.

    ChatOn is available in over 120 countries and in over 62 languages and presents two function options. The baseline option is available for those who prefer an easy use, allowing them to share text, images, events and contacts.

    This service will be launched progressively for the main types of smartphones, tablets, notebooks and phones that are currently available on market, including future devices presented at IFA 2011.

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  • Grid OS Coming to Capture the Mobile Market?

    Many players entered into this market and failed to gain the upper hand over the hugely successful iPhone. Still, Android stands its well earned ground and still gives good competition to Apple and its iOS based products. Apple’s real success is very well grounded in its operating system iOS and applications support from the App Store. Google does the same with Android and the Android Store, but it is an accepted fact that Android is not as economically strong as iOS. Some other participants in this mobile OS arms race are BlackBerry OS, WebOS, Symbian, Windows Phone 7 and some more in their own niche and playing their cards for (local) dominance.

    The latest operating systems that are coming up with big flashing neon lights are MeeGo and the newly announced Grid OS. MeeGo is not a new thing and is an open source platform. Used to have Nokia support… No more.

    Fusion Garage (sadly well known for a lawsuit fight with TechCrunch's Michael Arrington) brings Grid OS, a completely new player entering into the arena with zero fan niches. The OS base is not completely new since it is Android based, armed with a new and shiny interface. This is the bonus point for Grid OS, you can use Android apps natively. Of course, this was the whole point of Google's open sourcing Android: competition.

    What makes special Grid OS? The home screen of this latest OS is quite nice and captivating. Definitely, it is quite intriguing after using iOS devices and other Android based devices. The flexibility is its capacity to group applications and expand or collapse each group according to the needs of the user. Designers are still tweaking this from an usability point of view, but it looks and feels gorgeous.

    It is a completely gesture based OS. Removing capacitive buttons is making the OS more interesting. Windows Phone 7 works through dynamic tiles and its interaction for the user is very far from the flowing feeling of Grid OS. Only time will tell if Grid OS stands its ground or disappears into mediocrity (or oblivion).

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  • OFFICIAL: Nokia Announces Symbian Belle Along With Three New Smartphones

    Although the news of a new update for Symbian OS, called Belle, has come to our years since Monday, only today has officially been announced by Nokia. But with this announcement, has also come another one of three new smartphones that comes with this OS: Nokia 600, Nokia 700 and Nokia 701. All three are scheduled to appear in the third quarter of this year, which means that we will find them in stores soon.

    The new software brings three new homescreens, doubling up the area the widgets and the shortcuts can be spread, a drop-down menu for notifications and quick access to functions such as turning on the WiFi antenna, support for the NFC technology (also present on Symbian Anna) and software updates directly from the phone. Probably you’ll be amused to see that this update looks like a custom Android skin, which is not such a bad thing for Nokia, thus bringing the Symbian software closer to a modern operating system.

    If we talked a bit about software, let’s say few words about the new handsets, starting with Nokia 700. This one has a 1GHz processor, 3.2-inch AMOLED “ClearBlack display, Gorilla Glass protected, a 5-megapixel camera, pent band antenna, a battery providing 7.3 hours of talk and a design made of recycled materials. The price of this phone will be $ 390.

    Nokia 701 will include a slightly larger display, of 3.5 inches, based on the IPS technology. Also, this display is part of the “ClearBlack” range and is protected by Gorilla Glass. The same 1 GHz processor is also used in the 701 model, but the camera offers a higher resolution, of 8 megapixels and also has a flash with two leds. A camera on the front of the phone is also included, along with an NFC chip. Its internal memory is only 8 GB, but can be increased to 40 through the microSD slot. The battery is also more powerful, Nokia praising this terminal with 17 hours of talk on 2G and 8.8 on 3G calls. The suggested retail price for this phone will be $ 420.

    In the end we talk about the Nokia 600, which is a multimedia-based phone. It includes a 3.2-inch display nHD, 1 GHz processor, 5-megapixel camera (which also shoots in 720p), NFC, FM transmitter and receiver and also 2 GB of internal memory. The phone also has a microSD slot, and is the "noisy" phone company. The battery of this terminal is not that bad, Nokia announcing 15 hours of talk autonomy. Price for the 600 model of the Finnish manufacturer is $ 240.

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  • Samsung To Launch Four New Galaxy Smartphones

    The four phones are called Galaxy M Pro, Galaxy W, Galaxy Y and Galaxy Y Pro.

    • Galaxy W is for those who want fast devices, having a 1.4 GHz processor and 14.4 Mbps HSDPA connectivity. The phone has a touch screen of 9.4 inches.
    • Galaxy M Pro is addressed especially to those who want to socialize because of the QWERTY keyboard that allows the access to contacts and fast editing of documents and messages.
    • Galaxy Y is a device that targets young consumers. This one includes Samsung Social Hub, which allows users to stay connected in their online social circles.
    • Galaxy Y Pro is equipped with a QWERTY keyboard, the smartphone address to young professionals seeking to easily manage their professional, but also personal life. Users can stay connected to Social Hub Premium that allows emails, social networks integration and instant messaging.

    Additionally, the company changed the method of naming smartphones, the new structure grouping all devices in five classes identified by a letter of the alphabet. The devices will then be appointed to an additional indicator that will define a specific function.

    The new names are:

    • S (super smart),
    • R (royal / refined),
    • W (wonder),
    • M (Magic) and
    • Y (Young).

    Also, additional qualificators are:

    • Pro (when the device includes QWERTY keyboard)
    • Plus (the phone is the upgraded version of an existing model)
    • LTE (the phone can use the LTE connectivity (Long-Term Evolution), a 4G standard through which the mobile Internet speed can reach 100 Mbps, five times higher than today).

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  • The SMS Becomes History: Skype Buys GroupMe

    GroupMe is a one-year-old company. Users can send messages or participate in online conferences if they install the program from GroupMe on their smartphone. After this acquisition, Skype wants to compete with Facebook and BlackBerry, companies that are already offering messaging services for the owners of smartphones. In addition, Apple plans to launch a similar service in the fall of 2011, called iMessage and which will appear in the software updates for the iOS.

    Multifunctional systems

    If Apple and BlackBerry applications can be used only by the users of these phones, there are few services available to all smartphone owners, such as WhatsApp Messenger and Groupme. WhatsApp fell by 8% the volume of SMS messages sent by the mobile telecom users of the largest operator in the Netherlands – KPN. About 85% of them are using smartphones running on Android, writes Financial Times.

    The largest social networks have not missed the opportunity. Facebook has announced the launch of a chat application for smartphones, which have became pretty fast the most downloaded program from the Apple store. In addition, Google+ is also including the mobile chat Huddle.

    Started in 2010, GroupMe offers its own application on iPhone, Blackberry and also on Android smartphones. The company has also launched in July a version of its application for Windows Phone 7. Skype didn’t say whether GroupMe will be integrated into Skype services or will continue running as a separate company.

    For the online telephony giant, the GroupMe acquisition will add the ability to deliver messages for groups. Microsoft has bought Skype, in May, for $ 8.5 billion. Once the merger is complete, Microsoft plans to add Skype in xBox and Kinect devices as well as in their Windows Phone smartphones.

  • Google to Launch Nexus Prime in October

    The first official phone with Android was HTC Dream, also called T-Mobile G1. After over one year since the launch of HTC Dream, has appeared Nexus One, and after some time came Nexus S. These three terminals are the only Android devices branded Google, although they were produced by HTC and Samsung, respectively.

    Even if there were no significant differentiation from other Android smartphones, they were closer to the soul of giant Google, regardless of the producing company. Each brought a new version of the so popular operating system and along with the approaching of 4.0 version of Android, the company seems to prepare a new version of the popular Nexus series under the name of Nexus Prime.

    The next smartphone from Google will be produced by Samsung. South Korean corporation is going to put on the Nexus Prime impressive hardware: Super AMOLED screen of 4.5 inches with 1280 x 720 pixels resolution and dual-core processor at 1.5 GHz. The 8-megapixel camera will have capabilities of shooting Full HD 1080p as Samsung Galaxy S II. Internal storage capacity will be 16 GB.

    The great preview related to this terminal will be the operating system, rumors suggesting that it will be the first smartphone running on Android 4.0, codenamed “Ice Cream Sandwich". Samsung & Google's Nexus Prime could be officially presented during the IFA meeting (September 2-7, 2011), and a month later would hit the stores.

    A launch in October makes us think of one thing: the fierce competition with iPhone 5, which will reach the stores in the same period. It will be a race against time for the long-awaited Apple smartphone versus the new Nexus handset, though if Google follows its usual strategy we won’t see too many operators selling the dual-core handset.

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  • HTC Sues Apple

      HTC, the second largest Asian producer of mobile phones, filed a complaint against Apple, claiming the U.S. giant has infringed three patents.

    The movement made by HTC aims at blocking the imports of gadgets such as iPhone and Mac computers. The Taiwanese company accuses Apple that has infringed three patents related to wireless technology. The General Counsel of HTC, Grace Lei, said that Apple needs to stop violating HTC invention rights. She says HTC started this action against the U.S. company in order to protect their intellectual property, their partners and, most importantly, their customers.

    Apple immediately came with a response to accusations, a spokesman for Apple saying that their competitors have to create their own original technology, not to steal theirs.

    In July this year, HTC made several acquisitions, a trend Google has followed by buying Motorola Mobility in order to maintain their market position in IT & C. The Asian company has bought S3 Graphics Co. This was a successful move for HTC, which won the lawsuit against Apple after a judge found that the U.S. company's operating system, Mac OS X, violated two patents of S3 Graphics Co.

    Another judge  discovered last month that HTC had violated two rights of invention from Apple. If this accusation is confirmed, it could lead to blocking the imports of certain mobile phones of the Taiwanese company.

    Apple filed a separate complaint this month that targets the phones and Flayer tablet from HTC. Motorola, Nokia, HTC, Apple, Google and Samsung are currently involved in one or more trials related to the violation of certain patented technologies.

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  • Google Buys Motorola Mobility

    After everyone was watching Microsoft and Nokia (mobile unit) to see whether Steve Ballmer will buy the largest European manufacturer of phones or not, the bomb came even from the rival. $ 12.5 billion will pay Google on Motorola Mobility!

    Google officials are likely to know much more about the acquisition of Nokia, so they strengthened their position in the mobile phone market in order to counteract the effect of the possible competition offered by the new phones branded Microsoft.

    Today, Motorola is one of the 39 manufacturers that use Google's operating system, Android. Buying a hardware company is a very unusual move for Google, but it seems that by the end of 2011 or early 2012 we will witness to a big fight in the IT market.

    The confirmation of the acquisition was disclosed by Larry Page in a posting on the Internet saying that the U.S. Department of Justice had to intervene in the results of one of the auctions related to patents in order to protect the competition and the innovation in the free software community and, currently, is analyzing the results of the Nortel auction.

    The boss of Google has also said the acquisition of Motorola was made in order to increase the competition on the market and at the same time to improve Google's portfolio of patents, a fact which will allow Google to better protect their Android platform from the threats coming from Microsoft, Apple and other companies.

  • According to Nokia, Windows Phone 7 Excels Against the Android and iOS Popularity

    Nokia President Chris Weber has come up with a greatest insight into the Nokia’s latest strategy in an interview with VentureBeat. He made an astonishing comment saying that interfaces and app-based models such as Android and iOS will “outdate” soon.

    Nokia recently associated with Microsoft for its Windows Phone 7 mobile platform and coming up with some latest smartphone models pretty soon to regain its dominance like earlier. Nokia is seriously concentrating on a new strategy to gain upper hand over the currently popular Android and iOS. The new strategy of the upcoming smartphones from Nokia will be unique through arranging everything around the contacts unlike its competitors, which are based on the navigation among various apps.

    Windows Phone 7 coming up with a new interaction procedure known as “Live tiles and Hubs”. This feature offers all the key contacts along with mode of communication through dynamic tiles, which alters display as soon as a contact posts an update. Also, contacting someone is enabled through various options just through tapping, which will return back with various communication options including calling, Facebook, Twitter, email and many more. Definitely, this kind of approach is quite unique and away from the present popular mobile operating systems.

    The streamlined communication feature arranged in the Windows Phone 7 OS is quite novice and unlike apps based phones. Nokia thinking that this can gain back the throne like earlier. In fact, the mentioned feature success is mainly dependent on the mobile phone hardware. Perhaps, Nokia can succeed well to arrange require hardware for these feature through their devices, but other manufacturers such as LG, Samsung and HTC will think about this as they’re all already well associated with Android for their smartphones.

    Nokia is very well panning to make maximum out of Windows Phone 7 and planning for biggest marketing campaign for all their WP7 based upcoming smartphones. According to Weber’s latest interview, the upcoming smartphones will be available in the U.S. market “in volume” in 2012.

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