Smartphones
PC Shipments Drop 14 Percent Annually as Consumers Prefer Tablets, Smartphones
April 11, 2013 9:23 am | by Andrew Berg | News | CommentsConsumer preference for tablets and smartphones sent first quarter global PC shipments down 14 percent to 76.3 million units, according to new numbers from IDC. IDC said the extent of the annual contraction marked the worst quarter since IDC began tracking the PC market quarterly in 1994...
Orders of Keyboard BlackBerry Start in Canada
April 10, 2013 9:21 am | by Rob Gillies, Associated Press | News | CommentsThe maker of the BlackBerry phone said Tuesday that a modern smartphone with a physical keyboard will be available in Canada in the coming weeks as major wireless companies started taking advance orders. Details on when the BlackBerry Q10 will go on sale...
App-Enabled Accessories Abound at the Apple Store
April 9, 2013 9:37 am | by Andrew Berg | Articles | CommentsThere's a special section over at Apple's online store devoted entirely to “app-enabled accessories.” These items include extravagances like a Wi-Fi enabled scale that shoots its data straight to the iPhone, or a flying drone that can be controlled right from your very own iOS device...
Review: HTC One Impresses but Software Disappoints
April 9, 2013 8:56 am | by Peter Svensson, AP Technology Writer | News | CommentsReady for the battle of the phones? This year's crop of high-end smartphones is starting to emerge, like bear cubs crawling out of their burrows, sniffing the spring air. First out is the HTC One, a handsome, powerful animal that should do well this year...
HTC Reports Dismal 1Q Profits
April 8, 2013 9:59 am | by By Andrew Berg | News | CommentsHTC today posted preliminary financials for the first quarter of 2013 that show the effects of delays in the launch of its flagship HTC One smartphone. The company today said unaudited net profit was $2.85 million for the...
Comscore: Apple Growing U.S. Market Share, Google Shrinking
April 5, 2013 9:53 am | by Ben Munson | News | CommentsComscore’s latest three-month study of U.S. smartphone market shows Apple’s iPhone and iOS platform both growing their shares. From the end of November through the end of February, Apple upped its share among OEMs to 38.9 percent from 35 and iOS boosted its share among smartphone operating systems to 38.9 percent from 35.
Samsung's Operating Profit Up 53 Percent in 1Q
April 5, 2013 9:11 am | by YoukYung Lee, AP Technology Writer | News | CommentsSamsung Electronics Co. said its operating profit last quarter rose 53 percent over a year earlier, outpacing expectations for what's normally a slow time for consumer electronics sales. The South Korean firm on Friday estimated its first quarter...
Report: Android Market Gains Tied to Sprint's Samsung Sales
April 4, 2013 11:13 am | by Andrew Berg | News | CommentsAndroid continues grabbing more market share, snagging 51.2 percent of smartphone sales in the United States during the three-month period that ended in February, according to a report from Kantar Worldpanel ComTech. Apple's iOS took second place...
Report: Apple to Release Updated Phone This Summer
April 3, 2013 9:02 am | by Associated Press | News | CommentsApple is set for a possible summer launch of the next iPhone, rather than a fall launch like the last two models, according to a report Tuesday in The Wall Street Journal. Apple Inc. is also working on a cheaper iPhone model that could win...
Apple Apologizes in China After Service Criticism
April 2, 2013 9:41 am | by Christopher Bodeen, Associated Press | News | CommentsApple apologized to Chinese consumers after government media attacked its repair policies for two weeks in a campaign that reeked of economic nationalism. A statement Apple posted in Chinese on its website Monday said the complaints had...
Apple Patents iPhone with Wraparound Display
April 1, 2013 9:41 am | by Peter Svensson, AP Technology Writer | News | CommentsApple is seeking a patent for an iPhone that has a display that wraps around the edges of the device, expanding the viewable area and eliminating all physical buttons. The patent application reveals that Apple has put some thought into a device that takes advantage...
Galaxy S 4 Available for Pre-order April 16 from AT&T, U.S. Cellular
March 29, 2013 1:02 pm | by Ben Munson | News | CommentsBoth AT&T and U.S. Cellular have confirmed April 16 as the date when they’ll start accepting pre-orders for Samsung’s new flagship smartphone. AT&T has set the price at $249 with a two-year contract while U.S. Cellular has yet to reveal pricing details. Neither carrier has set a release date.
Featurephone Upgrades Hold the Key to Smartphone Growth in the US in 2013
March 28, 2013 9:25 am | by Mary-Ann Parlato, Global Insight Director, Kantar Worldpanel ComTech | Articles | CommentsWith many products sharing the same OS platform, and with OS loyalty high among existing smartphone users, marketers in the U.S. will need to focus on growth drivers other than OS affiliation if they hope to come out on top in 2013. Chief among these considerations...
BlackBerry CEO Says iPhone Is Outdated
March 22, 2013 9:01 am | by Rob Gillies, Associated Press | News | CommentsApple's iPhone is outdated, according to the chief executive of BlackBerry-maker Research In Motion Ltd. Thorsten Heins made the comment Thursday on the eve of the much-delayed launch of the new touchscreen BlackBerry in the United States. AT&T begins selling the Z10...
Report: DOD Writes Order for 600K iOS Devices
March 21, 2013 10:07 am | by Andrew Berg | News | CommentsIn yet another blow to BlackBerry's core customer base, the Department of Defense (DOD) may be readying an order of 600,000 iOS devices. According to a report from Electronista, the DOD has finished extensive testing of BlackBerry's new...
HP Develops Glasses-Free 3-D for Mobile Devices
March 21, 2013 9:25 am | by Associated Press | News | CommentsResearchers at Hewlett-Packard Co. have developed a way to put glasses-free 3-D video on mobile devices with a viewing angle so wide that viewers can see an object more fully just by tilting the screen. Glasses-free 3-D is not unique. Nintendo Co. Ltd.'s 3DS handheld allows video game...
Report: Smartphones Account for 93 Percent of Gross Handset Profits
March 20, 2013 10:01 am | by Andrew Berg | News | CommentsSmartphone margins are where it's at if you're a handset manufacturer these days. According to a new report from IHS iSuppli, smartphones accounted for 87 percent of handset industry revenue in 2012 and a staggering 93 percent of gross profits...
ZTE Taps Intrepidus for Smartphone Security
March 19, 2013 10:18 am | by Andrew Berg | News | CommentsChinese smartphone manufacturer ZTE today said it is partnering with Intrepidus on providing security for its devices. ZTE said it seeks to become a "leader in smartphone security." As part of the agreement, Intrepidus will evaluate the security mechanisms of ZTE...
Review: Tech in Galaxy S 4 Doesn't Come Together
March 18, 2013 9:46 am | by Peter Svensson, AP Technology Writer | News | CommentsThe Galaxy S 4, Samsung's latest and greatest, has a cute feature we'll probably see in a lot of phones soon: You can shoot both yourself and your surroundings at the same time, using the front- and back-mounted cameras. It's a bit like having a two-camera film crew follow you around...
Report: More youth Use Smartphones as Route to Web
March 13, 2013 9:03 am | by Martha Irvine, AP National Writer | News | CommentsKeep computers in a common area so you can monitor what your kids are doing. It's a longstanding directive for online safety — but one that's quickly becoming moot as more young people have mobile devices, often with Internet access. A new report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project...
Adobe: Tablets Beat Smartphones in Global Website Traffic
March 7, 2013 10:09 am | by Ben Munson | News | CommentsWebsites around the world are now getting more visits from tablets than from smartphones. The Adobe Digital Index, after analyzing more than 100 billion visits to more than 1,000 websites worldwide, estimates that 8 percent of that traffic originates from tablets while 7 percent comes from smartphones. The rest is attributed to laptops and PCs.
Review: Despite Flaws, Voice Search Has Potential
March 7, 2013 9:16 am | by Anick Jesdanun, AP Technology Writer | News | CommentsI never thought I'd be telling my phone what to do. But I often find myself talking to various digital assistants — Siri on the iPhone and Google Now on Android devices — to request driving directions, restaurant recommendations and answers...
Report: iOS Growth Beats Android in 4Q
March 6, 2013 2:39 pm | by By Andrew Berg | News | CommentsAs much as Apple has been taking it on the chin from Wall Street, the iPhone maker still takes the top OEM spot in U.S. smartphone market share for the three-month period ending in January, according to the latest numbers from ComScore...
Report: Samsung Galaxy S IV Will Include Eye-Tracking Feature
March 5, 2013 11:15 am | by Andrew Berg | News | CommentsSamsung has officially sent out invites for a Samsung Unpacked event on Thursday, March 14th at Radio City Music Hall, where the company is expected to unveil the Galaxy S IV smartphone. Multiple reports have surfaced that the new Android-based smartphone will have eye-tracking...
BlackBerry Developer Support Still Shaky as Netflix Bows Out
March 5, 2013 10:21 am | by Andrew Berg | News | CommentsIt's all about the apps for any mobile platform hopeful and it seems BlackBerry 10 just continues to prove that it can't attract the heavy hitters. In the wake of Yahoo! reporting yesterday that it will kill support for its dedicated BlackBerry app, Netflix says it too is steering clear of the platform...
