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 patent case: Samsung Galaxy Nexus banned in US

A judge in California has blocked US sales of Samsung's Galaxy Nexus smartphones while the court decides on the firm's patent dispute with Apple.

US District Judge Lucy Koh said Apple "has shown a likelihood of establishing both infringement and validity".

Earlier this week, she barred sales of Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 tablet in the US until the case was resolved.

However, she said that Apple would have to post bonds of nearly $100m (£64m) to enforce the rare pre-trial injunctions.

The bonds serve to secure payment of damages sustained by Samsung should it win the cases.

Samsung, the South Korean electronics giant, said it was "disappointed" by Friday's decision.

"We will take all available measures, including legal action, to ensure the Galaxy Nexus remains available to consumers," it said in a statement.

California-based Apple and Samsung are involved in a variety of legal cases in various countries across the globe amid claims and counter claims of patent infringement.

While Apple had accused Samsung of "blatant copying" of its design and look, the South Korean firm has alleged that Apple infringed its patents relating to the way phones and tablet PCs connect to the internet.

Apple and Samsung are two of the biggest manufacturers of tablet PCs and smartphones in the world.

Sales of the iPad more than doubled to 15.43m for the three months to 31 December 2011.

And in the first quarter of 2012 it sold 13.6m, giving it about 63% of the global tablet market, according to research firm Display Search.

Samsung sold 1.6m tablets over the same period, giving it a 7.5% share.

The success of Apple's iPhone and iPad has seen the firm recently become the world's most valuable company.

Meanwhile, Samsung has enjoyed considerable success in the sectors with its Galaxy range of products.

The demand for tablet PCs and smartphones is likely to grow even further in the near term.

Analysts said that given the growth potential, the two firms were using every possible tactic to ensure that they capture a bigger share of the market.

Sunday, July 01, 2012 | 0 comments | Read More