Android races past Apple in smartphone market share

The mobile space has quickly become a two-horse race between Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) and Apple -- and one of those giants significantly widened its lead last quarter.

 Google's Android surged to a whopping 68% share of the global smartphone market last quarter.

 That's four times the 17% market share held by Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500), according to a Wednesday report from research firm IDC. IDC, which tracks smartphone market share by operating system, said that nearly 105 million Android phones were shipped in the second quarter -- more than double the number shipped at the same time last year.

 Apple also showed strong growth, with an almost 28% gain over the previous year to 26 million phones shipped.

 "Android continues to fire on all cylinders," IDC senior research analyst Ramon Llamas said in the report, citing good prices and new phone models from Android's hardware partners as growth catalysts.

 More specifically, IDC pegged Android's gain "directly" to Samsung, which represented 44% of all Android phones shipped during the quarter.

 That's more than the next seven Android vendors combined, IDC said. Samsung's Galaxy S III debuted late in the quarter to favorable reviews.

 Apple and Samsung are currently locked in a heated court battle over Apple's allegations that Samsung illegally copied its iPhone design.

 Apple's iOS momentum was slowed this quarter by rumors that the iPhone 5 will be released in September.

 The iPhone 4S has been on the market since last October, so IDC said sales have "cooled."

 Meanwhile, Android and iOS's combined 85% market share didn't leave much room for competitors. Shipments of BlackBerry phones from Research in Motion (RIMM) fell a staggering 41% over the year to 7.4 million.

 That represented less than 5% of the market -- the lowest level since 2009, IDC said. It will be tough for RIM to improve its position this year, as the company said in June that its BlackBerry 10 operating system is delayed again until 2013.

 The once-popular Symbian operating system from Nokia (NOK) "sunk to a new nadir last quarter," IDC said, with shipments falling more than 60% over the year. Symbian now represents only 4.4% of the global market. Microsoft's Windows and the open-source Linux rounded out the last 6% of the market.

Saturday, August 18, 2012 | 0 comments | Read More

Apple wins ban on two Android devices: What it means for you

Last week, a U.S. District judge dealt a serious blow to Google and Samsung by slapping an injunction on the Galaxy Nexus phone and the Galaxy Tab 10.1 in a patent infringement lawsuit.

 Although Judge Lucy Koh hasn't found Samsung guilty of patent infringement--not yet, anyway--she ruled that Apple would suffer irreparable harm if the two Android devices were found to infringe Apple patents and remained on sale during the trial.

 The Galaxy Nexus is Google's lead Android device, so Koh's ruling is the biggest patent setback for Android to date.

 (Samsung has appealed Koh's ruling.) I'm not a lawyer or a shareholder in any of the companies involved, so I'm less concerned with the legal maneuvering than I am with the patent wars' effects on consumers.

 Let's take a look at what the injunctions and the greater mobile patent wars mean for the people who are actually using the products:

 Are existing users affected?

 If you own a Galaxy Nexus or Galaxy Tab 10.1, no one's going to show up at your doorstep and ask for it back.

 Your device will continue to work, but there's always a chance that Google or Samsung may tweak their software in future updates to work around claims of patent infringement.

 My Galaxy S II, for instance, lost its "overscroll bounce" effect in an update late last year, and I suspect this was done to avoid a patent claim that Apple has wielded against other companies.

 The patents at issue in the Samsung case deal with universal search, predictive text, slide-to-unlock and the ability to select an action when you tap on certain types of text.

 It's not yet clear whether Google and Samsung can come up with workarounds.

 Can you still buy a Galaxy Nexus or Galaxy Tab 10.1?

 I can't find the original Galaxy Tab 10.1 online, aside from a few refurbished units, but the device is now a year old and not worth buying.

 I'm guessing most retailers had already stopped selling it.

 Instead, you can get the Tab 2 10.1, which remains on sale at Best Buy and elsewhere.

 The unlocked Galaxy Nexus remains on sale on Google's website, but we'll see what happens once Apple posts a $96 million bond that's required to set the ban in motion.

 (If Samsung prevails at trial, it will get that bond money to make up for lost sales.) A Verizon store clerk, meanwhile, told Mashable's Lance Ulanoff that the carrier will sell its remaining Galaxy Nexus stock, but can't import any more units.

 Are all Android devices now doomed? Aside from Samsung, Apple has also sued Motorola and HTC for patent infringement.

 The U.S. International Trade Commission found HTC guilty of infringing two patents, and its latest phones were briefly held up at customs in May while the company's workarounds were approved.

 Apple claims that the workaround isn't good enough, so HTC's not out of the woods yet, but at the moment HTC's Android phones are widely available.

 Motorola also seems safe for the moment, following U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Richard Posner's decision to dismiss the entire case of Apple v. Motorola.

 Posner said neither side could prove damages, and Apple couldn't show that an injunction would benefit itself more than it would hurt Motorola. Apple will most likely appeal the ruling.

 Are Apple products at risk? Of course, Apple's rivals have filed counter-suits.

 The problem for Samsung and Motorola is that they're relying on "standard-essential" patents that are required for telecommunications, and must be licensed on fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory terms.

 The Federal Trade Commission is currently investigating Motorola, which is suing both Apple and Microsoft, over its use of these standard-essential patents to score injunctions.

 If the FTC requires Motorola to license its patents, the company will lose its ability to get Apple products banned.

Friday, July 06, 2012 | 0 comments | Read More

Fujitsu unveils Stylistic M532 Android 4.0 business tablet

Fujitsu is adding an Android device to its enterprise tablet line-up, offering businesses a choice of platforms while challenging Apple's iPad with a better set of corporate features, including built-in security, management tool integration, and support for Exchange email.

 Set to be available from mid-June, the Fujitsu Stylistic M532 is based on a quad-core Nvidia Tegra 3 processor with 1GB memory, 32GB of Flash Storage, and runs Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. The 10.1in device is expected to carry a price tag of £476(N120,000) including VAT. Fujitsu said it is seeing strong interest in the Android platform from the corporate market, and has designed the Stylistic M532 based on feedback to the Stylistic Q550 Windows 7 tablet the firm launched last year.

 "The Stylistic M532 is in response to a changing market. Bring your own device (BYOD) has really kicked off in the last 12 months, and businesses are identifying specific roles for Windows and Android tablets," Fujitsu mobile client marketing manager Dave Shaw said. Shaw said that the S tylistic M532 complements rather than replaces the Q550, which Fujitsu will continue to offer. While the Stylistic M532 looks like a consumer tablet, the device comes pre-loaded with applications and features designed to appeal more to corporate users.

Friday, June 01, 2012 | 0 comments | Read More

Intel confirms Android smartphone focus

Intel has said it intends to focus its efforts on entering the smartphone market solely on the Android operating system, ruling out the near-term possibility of working with Microsoft and its Windows Phone platform. While the company has set its sight on expanding its presence in the smartphone market, it has to focus its resources carefully, Intel managing director Graham Palmer said at the launch of the Orange Santa Clara device.

 "All software works best on Intel architecture, but we've got to focus on one platform to start with and for smartphones we're really focusing on Android, not Windows Phone," he said. The strategy will be a blow for Microsoft which would be hoping its long-time partner in the desktop and laptop space would help bring its clout to its fledging Windows platform.

 Despite aligning the firm's commitment to Android, Palmer was cagey about which other handset manufacturers Intel planned to partner with, only reconfirming plans with Motorola. "Of course we want to grow into other markets and we're working with other handset manufacturers," said Palmer. "Motorola Mobility will have an Intel-based phone later this year, but that's just a start for us. Our goal today is to partner with Orange to show just what Intel can do with smartphones." 

The San Diego is the first European smartphone to run using an Intel processor. It features a single-core Atom Z2460 1.6GHz processor, which it claims will out-perform similarly specced dual-core devices. The San Diego handset is set for release next week on either a £15 per month(In the UK) contract or £200(#50,000 in Nigeria) pay-and-go deal. Check back with TG-tech later for an opening hands-on review.

Friday, June 01, 2012 | 0 comments | Read More

Sony unveils rugged Xperia Go Android smartphone

Sony has unveiled the Xperia Go smartphone, yet another budget Android device aimed at the mid and lower-end markets that features rugged capabilities to help it withstand everyday life. Despite not announcing pricing for the device its specifications strongly suggest it will retail at the lower end of the market, particularly as it will only run Android Gingerbread 2.3 on release.

 It will be upgradeable to Ice Cream Sandwich in the future. The device has a 3.5in screen and a 5MP camera that can record HD video at 720p and is powered by a 1GHz dual-core processor. To make it rugged Sony has used scratch resistant mineral glass to meet International Protection 67 ratings for dust and water immersion. 

The device will come with 8GB internal storage with an expansion slot for a further possible 32GB as well as RAM of 512MB. The device is likely to find itself up against phones such as the Lumia 610 which went on sale in the UK on Wednesday, priced at around £150 SIM-free. That device boasts similar functions to the Xperia Go such as a 5MP camera, but runs the Windows Phone Tango operating system.

 TG-tech reviewed the 610 earlier this week and was impressed by the capabilities of the device, particularly as it only houses 256MB of RAM and has a single-core processor, but was disappointed that many key applications such as Angry Birds cannot run on these low specifications

Thursday, May 31, 2012 | 0 comments | Read More