Category: Mobile

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Global smartphone shipment soars past 300m mark in Q3

Q3 is a stunninCanalysg quarter for smartphones as global shipment broke the 300 million unit barrier for the first time. This represented year-on-year growth of 23 percent, according to Canalys.

While Samsung and Apple remain the market leaders, the tussle for the third spot is heating up with was Xiaomi (six percent) followed closely by Lenovo and Huawei at five percent each.

“The global market is becoming more competitive, with vendors beyond Samsung and Apple enjoying growing success. A year ago, in Q3 2013, Samsung and Apple together accounted for 48 percent of worldwide smart phone shipments. While still impressive, in Q3 2014 this had slipped to 38 percent. This trend is likely to continue. It is down to the strong value proposition and increasing quality of products offered across all price points by competing vendors, most notably Chinese companies. In fact, six of the top 10 global vendors in Q3 are based in China,” said Chris Jones, Vice President and Principal Analyst of Canalys.

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GSMA to recognise young innovator and connected women

GSMAGSMA has introduced two special awards to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Global Mobile Awards. The Young Mobile Innovator of the Year and Connected Women: Leadership in Industry awards will be presented at the Global Mobile Awards ceremony at GSMA Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on March 3, 2015.

The Young Mobile Innovator of the Year is designed to showcase young and exciting new talent from across the mobile ecosystem and is open to anyone between 18 and 25 years old, working in an organisation or independently, or currently pursuing further education. The Connected Women: Leadership in Industry award, will recognise leadership in the establishment of initiatives that have a positive impact in reducing the digital skills gap and attracting and retaining women and girls in mobile and telecommunications.

“These additional awards will put the spotlight on individuals and organisations that will be shaping the face of the mobile industry in the years to come,” said Michael O’Hara, Chief Marketing Officer of GSMA.

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PhotoMath app solves algebra problems using smartphone camera

PhotoMathAlgebra can be a bane to students and while some turn to their teachers for help, others request for assistance from parents, siblings and tutors. With PhotoMath, they now have another source of help. Best of all, it’s free!

PhotoMath, which is now available on iOS and Windows smartphones, leverage the devices’ cameras to scan a printed math problem and provide an answer in an instant — complete with the steps to solving the problem.

All the student needs to do is to install the app, scan the equation within a red frame and the app does the rest.

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Google’s Nexus 9 breaks new ground with NVIDIA Tegra K1 64-bit processor

Google Nexus 9When Google announced the Nexus 9 last Wednesday, one of the more pertinent developments is that the new tablet sports the NVIDIA Tegra K1, which brings 64-bit capabilities to Android for the first time.

Google’s first tablet, the first Nexus 7, was also powered by the NVIDIA Tegra two years ago.

The Nexus 9 has broken new ground as the Tegra K1 is the first ARM processor for Android to take advantage of Lollipop support for 64-bit CPU architectures. Earlier known as Project Denver, the ARM v8-based custom CPU design brings class-leading efficiency and power to mobile devices.

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China open to using smartwatches as payment system

gfk_logoSmartwatches are set to be more than health trackers with countries around the world exploring different potential.

According to a recent GfK survey, 54 percent of respondents are keen to use smartwatches for payment even though mobile payment using a smartphone to pay at the checkout with near field communication (NFC) technology hasn’t proved very popular so far.

Besides mobile payment, the survey covering China, Germany, South Korea, the UK, and the US, revealed taht people in these countries see potential in using smartwatches to “carry” tickets for passenger transport or as security keys to their computers and online accounts.

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Worldwide semiconductor market to grow 7.2% this year

GartnerA slew of demand for semiconductors is helping the industry to hit a targeted 7.2 percent growth to hit US$338 billion this year.

Apple and Samsung are among the many IT vendors that have unleashed new products in recent months, spurring the growth in the semiconductor market.

“Semiconductor revenue set an all-time record in the third quarter of 2014, fueled by a strong electronics build for the holiday season. Get ready for a flood of new product introductions, ranging from simple low-cost tablets to high-end ultramobiles and smartphones. Demand for the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus has been robust, but there is concern for other types of devices planned for the holidays,” said Jon Erensen, Research Director of Gartner.

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Microsoft jumps to Windows 10

Windows 10 familySkipping a generation seems to be the norm these days. A couple of weeks ago, NVIDIA introduced its GeForce GTX 900 series, bypassing the 800 series. Yesterday, Microsoft made a similar move by skipping a highly anticipated Windows 9 to introduce Windows 10.

In a technical preview, Microsoft highlighted advancements in the new operating system that are designed for business, including an updated user experience and enhanced security and management capabilities.

“Windows 10 represents the first step of a whole new generation of Windows, unlocking new experiences to give customers new ways to work, play and connect. This will be our most comprehensive operating system and the best release Microsoft has ever done for our business customers, and we look forward to working together with our broader Windows community to bring Windows 10 to life in the months ahead,” said Terry Myerson, Executive Vice President of the Operating Systems group at Microsoft.

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Huawei presents stylish Prime mobile wifi

Huawei Prime E5878Huawei has unveiled the Huawei Mobile WiFi Prime E5878, claimed to be the world’s thinnest at 7.5mm, the equivalent of five credit cards stacked on top of each other.

Delivering download speeds of up to 150 Mbps and connectivity for up to 10 devices, Huawei Prime is so compact and portable at 109.5mm long and 58mm wide that it can easily slide into a pocket or bag to stay connected on-the-go, making it ideal for small and home office business professionals.

Huawei Prime features press and play functionality with a five-second start up to provide quick connectivity for up to 10 WiFi-enabled devices at once with a range of 100 metres.

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Emerging markets to give tech devices US$10b boost

gfk_logoIndia, China, Pakistan, and Vietnam are among the top five emerging markets that will drive tech devices sale in 2015, according to GfK.

The resarch firm has forecasted that the global technology device market will remain at US$1 trillion next year, just as it has been since 2011.

Top 10 tech device growth markets in 2015​ ​ ​ ​
​ 2014 (U$b)​ ​2015 (U$b) ​Percentage YoY ​Growth (U$b)
​India 30.0​ 34.8​ 16%​ 4.8​
China​ 199.0​ 200.8​ 1%​ 1.8​
Nigeria​ 5.1​ 5.7​ 13%​ 0.7​
Pakistan​ 4.2​ 4.8​ 15%​ 0.6​
Vietnam​ 5.5​ 6.1​ 11%​ 0.6​
Bangladesh​ 3.3​ 3.8​ 13%​ 0.4​
Brazil​ 39.0​ 39.3​ 1%​ 0.4​
Egypt​ 4.6​ 5.0​ 8%​ 0.3​
Indonesia​ 12.4​ 12.7​ 3%​ 0.3​
​Philippines 3.8​ 4.1​ 6%​ 0.2​
TOTAL​ 306.9​ 317.1​ 3%​ 10.1​

Source: GfK

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75% of mobile apps will fail security test

Gartner

Enterprise employees are downloading mobile applications from app stores and use these applications to access enterprise assets or perform business functions. What’s scary is that many of these applications have little or no security assurances.

According to Gartner, more than 75 percent of mobile applications will fail basic security tests in 2015. These applications are exposed to attacks and violations of enterprise security policies.

“Enterprises that embrace mobile computing and bring your own device (BYOD) strategies are vulnerable to security breaches unless they adopt methods and technologies for mobile application security testing and risk assurance. Most enterprises are inexperienced in mobile application security. Even when application security testing is undertaken, it is often done casually by developers who are mostly concerned with the functionality of applications, not their security,” said Dionisio Zumerle, Principal Research Analyst of Gartner.

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Smartphones to grab lion’s share of mobile market by 2020

GSMASmartphones will grow from one in three today to two out of every three mobile connections globally by 2020, according to GSMA Intelligence, the research arm of the GSMA.

It forecasts that the number of smartphone connections will grow three-fold over the next six years, reaching six billion by 2020. Basic phones, feature phones and data terminals such as tablets, dongles and routers will account for the remaining connections. The study excludes M2M from the connections totals.

“The smartphone has sparked a wave of global innovation that has brought new services to millions and efficiencies to businesses of every type. In the hands of consumers, these devices are improving living standards and changing lives, especially in developing markets, while contributing to growing economies by stimulating entrepreneurship.,” said Hyunmi Yang, Chief Strategy Officer of GSMA.

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Wearables to boost smart mobile government projects in APAC

IDCWearable technologies are not only the rage among consumers and health fanatics but are also set to shape the way governments work and interact with the public.

According to IDC Government Insights, wearables will boost Smart Mobile Government (Smart mGovt) projects and consequently, pave the way for public sector Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystems.

Its “Designing Tomorrow’s Smart mGovernment Landscapes Enabled by the Growth of Wearables and the Internet of Things” report has identified the IoT, context, instantaneous reach, privacy, security, technology readiness, and wearables as the seven key ingredients for Smart mGovt adoption.

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Global smartphone shipment soars past 300m units in Q2

DIDCemand for smartphones are on the rise with more 301.3 million units shipped worldwide in Q2, up 25.3 percent from the 240.5 million units shipped in the corresponding quarter last year, according to IDC.

The dominant smartphone operating systems (OS), Android and iOS, saw their combined market share swell to 96.4 percent for the quarter, leaving little space for competitors.

Android was the primary driver with its vendor partners shipping a total of 255.3 million Android-based smartphones in Q2, up 33.3 percent year over year. Meanwhile, iOS saw its market share decline despite posting 12.7 percent year-over-year shipment growth. While Android and iOS both realised gains from a year ago, the rest of the market recorded losses.

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Chromebook sales to nearly triple by 2017

Acer Chromebook 13Acer has launched the Acer Chromebook 13, its first 13-inch Chromebook as well as the first Chromebook to use the NVIDIA Tegra K1 processor, which gives the new Chromebook a performance edge and longer battery life of up to 13 hours.

This rollout should help Acer concretise its position as the number in the Chromebook market, behind leader Samsung, which had 64.9 percent market share in 2013.

Gartner expects sales of Chromebooks to reach 5.2 million units this year, a 79 percent increase from 2013. By 2017, sales of Chromebooks are set to nearly triple to reach 14.4 million units.

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Tablet growth stagnates, notebook decline eases

CanalysWorldwide PC shipment hit 123.9 million units in Q2, representing year-on-year growth of 14 percent, according to Canalys. With no sequential growth, the positive effect that tablets have had on overall PC shipments is beginning to wear off.

Tablet shipment in Asia Pacific (including China) came in 8 percent below Q1 numbers, mainly due to a fall in shipment by Apple and Samsung.

Apple continued to lead the market with a 14 percent market share, though a 10 percent increase in Mac shipments could not make up for a decline in iPad sales, resulting in the company’s overall shipments declining by 5 percent.

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Facebook detaches Messenger

Facebook DislikeMessaging on Facebook will become a little more inconvenient as Messenger will become a separate app from Facebook app. This means that messaging will no longer be possible with the Facebook app.

Here’s what Facebook just sent:

We wanted to let you know that messages are moving out of the Facebook app to our Messenger app, a free app that’s faster and more reliable for everyday messaging. Messenger also includes new ways to send photos and videos, voice calls, stickers, group conversations and more.

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Chinese smartphone vendors outpace market

IDCApple and Samsung, beware! Chinese smartphone vendors are hot on your heels. According to IDC, a wide range of Chinese OEMs more than outpaced the market in Q2, with Huawei nearly doubling its shipment from a year ago, followed by Lenovo.

Huawei’s growth is spurred by 4G LTE pick up, particularly in China, as all three national carriers subsidised 4G handsets to encourage consumers to upgrade from 3G. Outside of China, large volumes of its lower-cost Y series fueled growth across most regions. The company continues to focus on broadening its global reach and the Q2 results show that the momentum is undoubtedly there.

Lenovo had a record quarter in China despite tremendous pressure from local brands. During the quarter, Lenovo saw increased success from the A788T and the 3G A388T. While its Motorola acquisition is undergoing approval, Lenovo continued to gain traction in international markets. Though less than five percent of Lenovo’s shipments were registered outside of China in Q2 2013, this share nearly tripled this Q2, with emerging markets, particularly BRIC countries, picking up the largest volumes.

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Mobile data to overtake voice in Malaysia in 2017

IDCMobile data is expected to bring in more revenue than mobile voice in Malaysia in 2017, according to IDC.
Despite the penetration rate of Malaysian mobile users exceeding 140 percent and high prepaid-postpaid ratio, mobile operators have still been able to maintain their revenue growth. Total revenue has grown by 35 percent in the last three years, and IDC expects the revenue to continue to grow to RM27.6 billion in 2018 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.6 percent.
“Mobile data revenue will continue to grow strongly at CAGR of 8.5 percent and become the main driver of the total mobile revenue in the next five years,” said Alfie Amir, Research Manager of Telecommunications at IDC Malaysia.
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Curvaceous HTC One E8 designed for selfies

HTC One E8With a 5MP front-facing wide-angle camera and auto self-timer, the newly-introduced HTC One E8 is designed for selfies. On the other side is a 13MP rear-facing camera.

The stylish HTC One (E8) with its elegant dual curve design also comes with new materials, Motion Launch and HTC BoomSound. A five-inch device features a full HD, borderless display for a cleaner viewing experience.

“The HTC One (M8) had set a new smartphone standard and now we’re taking it in another exciting direction. Combining style and substance, the HTC One (E8) represents the incredible experience people expect from a HTC One device, with a look and feel that’s unlike anything else out there today. If you’re looking for the best flagship smartphone experience and want to stand out from the crowd, this is the phone for you,” said  Jack Yang, President of HTC South Asia.

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ZTE mobile phones get Google Now Launcher

ZTE Blade Vec 4GZTE has pre-loaded Google Now Launcher on its smartphones to offer improved user experience and better value to users. It plans to pre-load Google Now Launcher on all Android 4.4 and above smartphones that have Google Mobile Services and Google Play enabled. 

ZTE has worked closely with Google to pre-load Google Now Launcher onto several ZTE devices, including the Blade Vec 4G smartphone, which runs on Android 4.4 and sports the Snapdragon 400 processor with integrated multi-mode 3G/4G LTE designed to deliver a better user experience.

The ZTE Blade Vec 4G and one other ZTE premium device will be officially presented at a ZTE press conference to be held in Hong Kong on July 24.

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PC market on slow road to recovery

GartnerWorldwide combined shipment of devices (PCs, tablets, ultramobiles and mobile phones) are expected to reach 2.4 billion units in 2014, a 4.2 percent increase from 2013, according to Gartner.

After declining 9.5 percent in 2013, the global PC market (desktop, notebook and premium ultramobile) is on pace to contract only 2.9 percent in 2014.

“2014 will be marked by a relative revival of the global PC market. This year, we anticipate nearly 60 million professional PC replacements in mature markets,” said Ranjit Atwal, Research Director of Gartner.

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Tablets to bridge smartphone-notebook gap

frost and sullivanSmartphones (71 percent) and notebooks (74 percent) are widely issued by enterprises. However, according to a Frost & Sullivan  survey, only 47 percent of enterprises issue tablets to their employees. The research firm expects these devices to bridge this gap over the next three years as many of the more data-intensive mobile applications migrate over to tablets.

By 2016, the use of smartphones is expected to decrease from 66 percent to 58 percent, while tablets are expected to increase from 49 percent to 56 percent. Interestingly, while almost 60 percent of enterprises allow personal devices to be connected to the corporate network, only four out of 10 IT decision makers report that their company has a formal bring your own device (BYOD) policy in place.

“Approximately 58 percent of large enterprises have a formal BYOD policy, while only 20 percent of small businesses have a standardised policy. The most common method of enforcing BYOD policies is through network technology solutions at 67 percent, followed by mobile device management at 61 percent,” said Karolina Olszewskan, Research Analyst of Frost & Sullivan.

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Samsung keeps lead in tablet space

abi researchSamsung has retained its pole position in ABI Research’s tablet vendor Competitive Assessment. In the analysis of 23 leading tablet vendors, ABI Research ranked companies on several criteria for product implementation and vendor innovation. The Korean giant prevailed in the innovation category and finished second in the implementation strategy.

Close behind Samsung in second place is Apple. Clearly dominating in shipment volume, Apple has been a strong contender in the tablet ecosystem. Apple places number one in implementation strategy but comes in close second for innovation. The two leading tablet makers have managed to stay ahead of other tablet OEM vendors.

In third place is Lenovo, which has done a great job of expanding its tablet portfolio by marketing to a large audience range and providing unique user interfaces.

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Simply amazing! 4K and G-SYNC make gaming a dream come true

NVIDIA Gamer's Day crowdIt’s Dragon Boat Festival, a public holiday in Taiwan but instead of choosing to run off for the holidays, hundreds of young gamers made a beeline to ATT where NVIDIA held the NVIDIA Gamer’s Day as a run up to Computex, which starts tomorrow.

From the moment the event kicked off at noon, there was no holding back the enthusiasm as the crowd checked out the latest and greatest in gaming technologies such as 4K monitors, G-SYNC, GameStream, ShadowPlay, SHIELD, GeForce GTX 700 series GPUs, and GeForce GTX 800M series-enabled notebooks. They took photos, touched, played with, and experienced the gaming devices first hand. Watch Dogs, AC4 Black Flag and Daylight were among the games on offer.

A team of five amateur gamers blew aside all the competition by winning six consecutive games to take home a whopping US$10,000.

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Technology keeps New Zealanders indoor

IDCBeautiful scenery, spectacular views and natural landscape make New Zealand a wonderful place to delight in outdoor activities. It’s no wonder then that New Zealanders are known to spend lots of time enjoying  outdoor activities.

However, technology seems to be changing the way New Zealanders live. According to IDC, New Zealand consumers are choosing to go out less often for shopping and leisure activities, as they prefer to do these activities in the comfort of their own home, thanks to advances in technology.

The new data reveals that 47 percent of respondents would prefer to do personal shopping online, rather than in a physical store.

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PC shipment up 5% but tablet growth slows in Q1

Worldwide client PC shipment rose five percent year on year to hit 123.7 million units in Q1 , according to Canalys. Growth in tablet shipments slowed to 21 percent, yet at 50.8 million units they continue to outship notebooks. Tablets accounted for 41 percent of the market while notebooks had 38 percent.

Notebooks and desktops in China declined 13 percent and six percent respectively compared with the previous year.

In the tablet market, there was strong growth in the Middle East (100 percent) and Greater China (74 percent). The US market was adversely affected by a drop in Apple iPad shipment, which fell 40 percent. This was offset somewhat by 20 percent growth in China, Apple’s second largest market. Worldwide, iPad shipments in Q1 fell 16 percent year on year to 16.4 million and accounted for 80 percent of Apple’s total PC shipments. Despite this, Apple continued to lead the global PC market. Its share fell both sequentially and year on year from 20 to 17 percent, due chiefly to the increasingly competitive tablet market.

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Global tablet shipment misses target

IDCWorldwide tablet plus 2-in-1 shipments slipped to 50.4 million units in Q1, according to preliminary data from IDC. The total represents a sequential decline of 35.7 percent from the high-volume holiday quarter and just 3.9 percent growth over the same period a year ago. The slowdown was felt across operating systems and screen sizes and likely points to an even more challenging year ahead for the category.

“The rise of large-screen phones and consumers who are holding on to their existing tablets for ever longer periods of time were both contributing factors to a weaker-than-anticipated quarter for tablets and 2-in-1s,” said Tom Mainelli, IDC Program Vice President, Devices and Displays. “In addition, commercial growth has not been robust enough to offset the slowing of consumer shipments.”

Apple maintained its lead in the worldwide tablet plus 2-in-1 market, shipping 16.4 million units. That’s down from 26.0 million units in the previous quarter and well below its total of 19.5 million units in Q1 of 2013. Despite the contraction, the company saw its share of the market slip only modestly to 32.5 percent, down from the previous quarter’s share of 33.2 percent.

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GSMA completes mobile energy efficiency optimisation project in Pakistan

GSMAGSMA has completed its second Mobile Energy Efficiency (MEE) Optimisation project in Pakistan, working in conjunction with mobile operator Warid Telecom and systems integrator Cascadiant.

The project trialled innovative energy-saving technology in Warid’s network and demonstrated significant energy savings of between 30 and 60 percent. When the solutions are rolled out across Warid’s network in Pakistan, the annual savings are expected to be more than US$6 million and 19,700 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.

GSMA also announced that Eltek, Enertika, PowerOasis and Purcell Systems have joined the GSMA’s MEE programme as technology partners. The companies are working with the GSMA to deliver MEE Optimisation projects for mobile network operators (MNOs) who wish to reduce their networks’ energy consumption and cost, as well as carbon emissions.

“It is fantastic that this MEE Optimisation project in Pakistan has already successfully demonstrated significant cost savings and emissions reductions, and is clearly showing the benefits of the service to our members,” said Tom Phillips, Chief Regulatory Officer of GSMA. “The GSMA is also delighted to welcome these four companies as MEE Optimisation technology partners to deliver real cost savings and environmental benefits for operators.”

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More power and better performance with new NVIDIA GeForce 800M

The Razor Blade packs the GeForce GTX 870M.
The Razor Blade packs the GeForce GTX 870M.

NVIDIA has launched its GeForce 800M line-up of notebook GPUs that deliver up to 60 percent performance improvement over the previous generation.

The new mobile GPUs sport a multitude of new features designed just for gamers, first of which is NVIDIA Battery Boost, which delivers up to double the gaming battery life.

Instead of pushing every notebook component to its max, Battery Boost targets a user defined frame rate, such as 30 FPS. The driver level governor takes over and operates all system components, including CPU, GPU, and memory at peak efficiency, while maintaining a smooth, playable experience.

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China vendors to account for half of global handset sales next year

abi researchThe Red Wave is spreading from China to the rest of the mobile world. Huawei, ZTE and Lenovo may not be the leading names that come to mind when it comes to handset vendors today but their influence is spreading. As it Xiaomi, which is taking East Asia by storm with sellouts every time it puts its phones for sale online.

ABI Research has reported that Chinese handset vendors will account for more than half of mobile handsets in 2015. Chinese vendors already accounted for 38 percent of mobile handset shipments in 2013 and the ongoing shift in growth to low cost handsets, especially smartphones, will increase their market share.

Many oChinese OEMs have focused almost exclusively on the huge Chinese market, with little activity beyond its borders, but this is set to change. Huawei (6th in worldwide market share for 2013) and ZTE (5th) have already made an impact on the world stage, but other Chinese handset OEMs like Lenovo — the Motorola acquisition is a clear statement of intent — and Xiaomi are set to join them.

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HTC unveils HTC Desire 310 in Taiwan

HTC Desire 310HTC has unveiled the HTC Desire 310, which packs a powerful quad-core processor and some of the features of the HTC One series but is more affordable.

Boasting a 1.3GHz quad-core processor, the smartphone can deliver fast, responsive web browsing, silky-smooth graphics when watching videos or playing games and the ability to switch between multiple apps.

“The latest addition to our renowned HTC Desire range combines super-fast processing and premium features at a lower price, offering users the best possible experience in this category,” said Peter Chou, CEO of HTC.

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Global tablet growth to slow this year

IDCThe much sought after tablet — the darling of the technology industry in recent years — is expected to grow just 19.4 percent this year. That’s a massive slow down from last year’s growth of 51.6 percent. According to the IDC Worldwide Quarterly Tablet Tracker, the reduction is due to slowing consumer purchases as hardware iterations slow and the installed base — particularly in mature markets — continues to grow.

Over the course of the past two years, average selling prices (ASPs) have declined rapidly in the tablet market, but this too appears to be slowing. In 2012, ASPs declined 18.3 percent from the previous year, and in 2013, prices dropped another 14.6 percent.

Price erosion has started to slowly bottom out, with ASPs forecast to drop a modest 3.6 percent in 2014. IDC believes ASP declines will slow for several reasons; chief among them are the growth of higher-priced commercial shipments and a consumer movement away from ultra-low cost products.

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MWC reports record visitors

MWCMore than 85,000 visitors from 201 countries attended Mobile World Congress (MWC), which ended yesterday. This is a record for the mobile industry event, which saw many new product launches and announcements.

In addition to the more than 80,000 attendees at MWC at Fira Gran Via, more than 5,000 people participated in a range of partner programmes at Fira Montjuïc.

“By any measure, the 2014 Mobile World Congress was a stunning success and we thank our attendees, exhibitors, sponsors and partners for their continued support,” said John Hoffman, CEO of GSMA. “Beyond the number of attendees and participating companies, the continued expansion of the event to address key adjacent industry sectors demonstrates just how pervasive mobile is in our everyday lives and how integrated it is becoming in everything that we do. It’s gratifying to be part of such a dynamic, exciting industry.”

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HTC unveils mid-range Desire 816 smartphone

HTC Desire 816HTC has unveiled the first model in its 2014 mid-range portfolio — the HTC Desire 816, which packs an advanced feature set that makes it one of the better value smartphones.

The first edition of the new-look HTC Desire family comes fully loaded with HTC’s iconic dual-frontal speakers and HTC BoomSound, while HTC BlinkFeed keeps users up-to-date with the latest news and social updates on the 5.5-inch screen. A 13MP rear-facing camera complete with HTC Zoe and automatic highlight videos, as well as a 5MP front-facing camera, make it ideal for capturing both selfie and landscapes.

The new smartphone is powered by a quad-core, 1.6 GHz processor and offers 4G LTE connectivity.

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Tablets account for half of PC shipment in Q4

CanalysTablet shipment grew 65.2 percent year-on-year to reach 76.3 million units in Q4, according to Canalys. This represents nearly half (48.3 percent) of the global PC market, which increased 17.9 percent during that period. Excluding tablets, shipment declined 6.9 percent year-on-year with falls in all regions. 

Apple remained the PC market leader in Q4, shipping 30.9 million units to take a 19.5 percent share of the market. It shipped 26.0 million iPads, which accounted for 84.3 percent of its total shipment in Q4. Apple’s share of the overall tablet market increased sequentially from 27.3 percent to 34.1 percent, with the launch of the iPad Air and iPad mini with Retina display providing a much needed boost. The original iPad mini also fell in price, down to US$299 in the US, making it cheaper than ever to buy an iPad. But competition is mounting and Android tablets are falling in price, which will put pressure on Apple’s market share in 2014.

Lenovo secured an 11.8 percent share in Q4, narrowly holding onto second place. Lenovo’s PC shipments increased 25.5 percent year-on-year, driven by growth outside of its core Chinese market, where its shipment declined. Lenovo’s 11.7 percent decline in notebook shipments in China was offset by impressive growth in other regions, notably EMEA, where shipments grew 30.4 percent. Shipments in Latin America also grew strongly, following the acquisition of CCE in the first quarter of 2012.Lenovo was early to embrace Android as a tablet OS, while the likes of HP and Dell waited for Windows 8 and prioritized margin over volume. Lenovo’s strategy has paid off, not only in its home market but worldwide.

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Ultra-portables grow 100% in 2013

abi researchUltra-portables are becoming increasingly popular, growing 100 percent from 2012 to 2013, according to ABI Research. This translates to 12.3 percent (22.5 million) of notebook PC shipment in 2013 (182.7 million).

“Across 24 countries tracked in November 2013, we found average ultra-portable PC selling prices ranging from US$940 to US$1,540 with the majority of models offered above US$1,200 in each country,” said Jeff Orr, Senior Practice Director of ABI Research. “The ASPs suggest ultra-portables including the convertible and detachable 2-in-1 configurations remained at the high-end of the notebook PC category exiting 2013.”

Beyond Apple’s MacBook Air running MacOS, the bulk of ultra-portable PCs are powered by the Windows 8 operating system, which suffered fits and starts during 2013 due to usability issues and poor first impressions by early adopter audiences. A revision, Windows 8.1, was released in the second half of the year to address these concerns, though popular opinion suggests many considering a refresh to their existing systems are willing to wait for the hiccups to be worked out before making a financial commitment.

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Samsung is top global semiconductor buyer

GartnerSamsung Electronics is the world’s top semiconductor buyer, and together with second placed Apple, increased their combined semiconductor demand by 17 percent in 2013, according to Gartner.

The two companies consumed US$53.7 billion of semiconductors in 2013, an increase of $7.7 billion from 2012.

“Samsung Electronics and Apple have topped the semiconductor consumption table for three years running, with their share of the design total available market (TAM) rising from 12 per cent in 2011, to 17 per cent in 2013,” said Masatsune Yamaji, Principal Research Analyst of Gartner. “This increase clearly shows how fast the presence of these two companies has expanded over the last three years and why their decisions have technology and pricing implications for the whole semiconductor industry.”

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Huawei teams up with the Gunners

HuaweiHuawei has taken a shot at the English Premier League by becoming the official smartphone partner of league leaders Arsenal.

Huawei and Arsenal announced the global deal, which lasts until the end of season 2015/16 at the Arsenal Training Centre in Colney, Hertfordshire, with members of the first team including, Aaron Ramsey, Lukas Podolski and Mesut Özil along with manager Arsène Wenger.

“We are delighted to be partnering with Huawei at such an exciting time in the development of its brand globally, and in particular in the UK and Europe,” said Tom Fox, Chief Commercial Officer of Arsenal.

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Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg to speak at MWC

GSMAMark Zuckerberg, Founder and CEO of Facebook is among the line-up of new speakers in the keynote programme at the upcoming 2014 GSMA Mobile World Congress (MWC).

He will be headlining in the first of the week’s Mobile World Live keynote sessions on Monday, February 24 at 18:00-18:45. In this session, he and renowned technology journalist and writer David Kirkpatrick will explore the importance of extending the benefits of ubiquitous Internet access to the unconnected world. In addition to the live audience in the Conference Village in Fira Gran Via, the Mobile World Live keynotes will be streamed live across the venue and to hundreds of thousands of viewers globally via the Mobile World Live portal.

“Mobile World Congress 2014 is set to be our biggest, most ambitious and most diverse event yet, offering new experiences for attendees across the growing mobile ecosystem,” said Michael O’Hara, Chief Marketing Officer of GSMA. “Over four days, attendees will have the opportunity to see just how broadly mobile is impacting our everyday lives, how we work, live and play. We’re looking forward to seeing the mobile world gather in Barcelona.”

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Companies need to catch up with mobile customers

ForresterCompanies worldwide are quickly realising that mobile has not only changed digital operations, but that it will fundamentally change entire businesses in decades to come, according to Forrester Research.

2014 will be an incremental year on this journey, as companies increase investments to transform their businesses and race to keep up with the growing mobile mind shift, with an installed base of more than two billion smartphones globally. In the report, Forrester Analysts Thomas Husson and Julie Ask outline key mobile trends anticipated for 2014, including::

  • Big data, big data, big data. Mobile is transformative but only if consumers are engaged in their exact moment of need with the right services, content, or information. Insights gleaned from data over time will be essential to know how to best serve customers in that moment.
  • Mobile advertising will start to mature. New mobile-centric ad formats will emerge, with more effective mobile video inventory and more mobile ad network inventory shifting to the exchanges.

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Audi adds NVIDIA Tegra-based visual computing power to its cars

Audi dashboardThree new in-vehicle systems powered by the NVIDIA Tegra Visual Computing Module (VCM) will soon begin shipping in Audi’s vehicles.

These innovative solutions, disclosed at the German automaker’s press conference at the 2014 International Consumer Electronics Show, include:

  • a connected infotainment system with twice the performance of its predecessor;
  • the world’s first automotive-grade tablet that is fully integrated into the car’s infotainment system; and
  • a high-resolution digital cockpit with unprecedented, vivid 3D graphical displays.
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Worldwide PC, tablet, ultramobile, and mobile phone shipment to grow 7.6% this year

GartnerGlobal shipment of devices (PCs, tablets, ultramobiles, and mobile phones) are projected to reach 2.5 billion units in 2014, a 7.6 percent increase from 2013, according to Gartner.

Among the operating system (OS) market, Android is on pace to surpass one billion users across all devices in 2014. By 2017, more than 75 percent of Android’s volumes will come from emerging markets.

“The device market continues to evolve, with buyers deciding which combination of devices is required to meet their wants and needs. Mobile phones are a must have and will continue to grow but at a slower pace, with opportunities moving away from the top-end premium devices to mid-end basic products,” said Ranjit Atwal, Research Director at Gartner. “Meanwhile users continue to move away from the traditional PC (notebooks and desk-based) as it becomes more of a shared content creation tool, while the greater flexibility of tablets, hybrids and lighter notebooks address users’ increasingly different demands.”

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NVIDIA unveils revolutionary Tegra K1 super chip for mobile platform

NVIDIA Tegra K1NVIDIA unveiled at CES the Tegra K1 mobile processor, a 192-core super chip featuring the same NVIDIA Kepler architecture that powers the NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 Ti. For the first time, next-generation PC gaming will now be available on mobile platforms.

The Tegra K1 processor sets new mobile standards by supporting the latest PC-class gaming technologies, enabling it to run sophisticated gaming engines like Epic Games’ Unreal Engine 4. It delivers advanced computation capabilities to speed the development of applications for computer vision and speech recognition. And its extraordinary efficiency delivers higher performance than any other mobile GPU at the same power level.

 

“Over the past two decades, NVIDIA invented the GPU and has developed more graphics technologies than any other company,” said Jen-Hsun Huang, co-founder and CEO, NVIDIA. “With Tegra K1, we’re bringing that heritage to mobile. It bridges the gap for developers, who can now build next-gen games and apps that will run on any device.”

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nubia nabs 2.5m orders for Z5S and Z5s mini smartphones

Nubia Z5SZTE’s boutique smartphone brand nubia has received 2.5 million orders for the Z5S and Z5S mini on JD.com as consumers in China.

The response to Z5S, priced at RMB1,999, and Z5S mini, priced at RMB1,499, surpassed a sales record previously set by Xiaomi. The two new smartphones were designed using consumer feedback garnered by nubia and JD.com in a C2B (consumer to business) approach to deliver a customer-defined user experience. Z5S and Z5S mini take nubia’s strengths in smartphone photography to a new level, becoming the first phones in China to offer the optical image stabiliser feature.

The new NEOVISION 3.0 system on Z5S and Z5S mini bring the feature of independent white-balance to smartphone users in China for the first time, after nubia pioneered independent focus and independent light-metering. The advanced imaging technology offered on Z5S and Z5S mini have earned the new handsets the moniker of “Single-Lens Reflex (SLR) Smartphones.” In addition, nubia’s industry-leading photography technology is now available for beta downloads (nubia Camera) by users of other handset manufacturers.

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1O1O and one2free launch first VoLTE network in Hong Kong

1010 and one2free VOLTE-1O1O and one2free have turned on the first VoLTE (Voice over LTE) network in Hong Kong powered by Hong Kong’s Trusted Network. The full commercial launch is expected to take place in the first half of 2014, in line with projected device maturity in the market.

CSL’s VoLTE offers clearer voice, instant connection, and better quality video calls enabled by ZTE’s IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) solution. Customers will experience a clearer voice and richer multimedia experience, with a distinct improvement in video call quality with VoLTE.

VoLTE also allows 1O1O and one2free to achieve better spectral efficiencies and will increase network capacity and subsequently enhancing the 4G LTE experience.

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SEA smartphone sales up 61% in first three quarters

gfk_logoSoutheast Asia consumers bought 41.5 million smartphones, spending US$10.8 billion in the first three quarters of this year, according to GfK Asia.

Indonesia led the way with sale of 14.8 million smartphones worth more than USS3.33 billion. Thailand and Malaysia were next with 7.2 million and 6.4 million units sold respectively. However, in terms of smartphone sales revenue, the ranking of these two countries are switched with Malaysia garnering US$2.25 billion while Thailand raked in US$1.96 billion in January to September.

“The increasing affordability of smartphones, particularly in the developing markets is helping many consumers in these countries make the switch from their basic feature phones to own their very first smartphone,” said Gerard Tan, Account Director for Digital Technology of GfK Asia. “It is worth highlighting the significant milestone of September being the month whereby sales penetration reached the halfway mark; where one in every two mobile handsets purchased in the region is now a smartphone.”

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Lower-priced models drive explosive smartphone growth in India

IDCIndia’s smartphone market grew an astounding 229 percent year-on-year in Q3. According to IDC’s APEJ Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, vendors shipped a total of 12.8 million smartphones in Q3 compared to 3.8 million units in the same period of 2012. Q3 also saw an increase of 28 percent over Q2.

The 5.0- to 6.99-inch screen size smartphones continued to show sustained growth, contributing 23 percent of the overall market in terms of volume.

The overall mobile phone market (feature phones and smartphones) had a 12 percent growth year-on-year and a seven percent growth quarter on quarter with the share of feature phones sliding further to make 81 percent of the total market in Q3 despite the feature phone market growing at three percent growth over the previous quarter.

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Yippee, no more spam calls!

No need to hang up the phone anymore to avoid unwanted calls.
No need to hang up the phone anymore to avoid unwanted calls.

In the technological era, one of the most irritating things about being easily reachable is being easily reachable — by people you don’t want to talk to.

What compounds it is if you are travelling overseas, maybe halfway around the world, and you get a call in the middle of the night. Thinking it must be something important, you pick it up and get a pitch on credit line, loan, property, or investment. It’s a real head banger!

The Do-Not-Call (DNC) registry could not have come any sooner in Singapore. From today, those who want to stop getting unwanted calls can list their numbers on the national DNC registry. The registry will block calls, SMSes and fax messages from January 2 next year.

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