Category: Mobile

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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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Huawei turbocharges LTE speed and revenue

XL Axiata representatives demonstrating Turbo Button. Inset: The Turbo Button mobile app.

Huawei has demonstrated a Turbo Button solution for dramatically boosting delivered LTE speeds with a simple push of a button on a mobile app.

Turbo Button allows mobile subscribers to easily accelerate their data speeds on demand from 1 Mb/s up to 70 Mb/s over a set period of time with just one touch on a downloadable app. The service is especially useful for improving the experience of high-speed web surfing, online gaming, large file uploads and downloads, and HD video streaming among other bandwidth intensive services.

The demo was conducted by Indonesian mobile operator XL Axiata at the recent 2013 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Indonesia and made exclusive use of Huawei’s Networker solution for LTE. XL

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Smartphone shipment up 40% while average price drops 12%

IDCWorldwide smartphone shipments are expected to surpass one billion units in 2013, representing 39.3 percent growth over 2012, according to a recently published mobile phone forecast from IDC Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker.

Despite a number of mature markets nearing smartphone saturation, the demand for low-cost computing in emerging markets continues to drive the smartphone market forward. By 2017, total smartphone shipments are expected to approach 1.7 billion units, resulting in a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18.4 percent from 2013 to 2017.

While shipment has gone up, the average selling price (ASP) has seen a steady decline. Android has enabled a number of new manufacturers to enter the smartphone market supported by a variety of turnkey processing solutions. Many of these handset vendors have focused on low-cost devices as a way to build brand awareness.

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Half billion LTE connections in Asia in 2017

GSMAThe uptake of 4G-LTE is expected to grow to pass one billion by 2017, according to a new study by GSMA Intelligence. This translates to one in eight of the more than eight billion total mobile connections forecast by that point, up from 176 million LTE connections at the end of 2013. And around half of these are expected to be in Asia.

Nearly 500 LTE networks are forecast to be in service across 128 countries, roughly double the number of live LTE networks today.

“Since the launch of the first commercial 4G-LTE networks in late 2009 we are seeing deployments accelerate across the globe,” said Hyunmi Yang, Chief Strategy Officer of GSMA. “Our new report highlights a number of factors that are driving LTE growth: the timely allocation of suitable spectrum to mobile operators; the availability of affordable LTE devices; and the implementation of innovative tariffs that encourage adoption of high-speed data services. Mobile operators in both developed and developing markets are seeing LTE services contributing to a significant increase in ARPU.”

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Tablets to account for half of PC market in 2014

 Source: Canalys

Tablets will almost out ship all other PC form factors combined, forming almost 50 percent of the total client PC market (desktops, notebooks, and tablets) in  2014, according to Canalys.

The worldwide client PC market grew 18 percent in Q3, despite desktop and notebook shipments continuing to decline. Tablet PC shipments accounted for 40 percent of PC shipments in Q3, less than half a million units behind global notebook shipments.

Tablet domination is set to continue, with Canalys forecasting 285 million units to ship in 2014, growing to 396 million units in 2017. Apple and Samsung are expected keep ahead of their competitors in the medium term, but there could be challenges for both vendors as competition in the tablet market continues to heat up.

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Power limiting progress in mobile devices

Neil TrevettPower is a big limitation in mobile devices despite improvements in battery power, according to Neil Trevett, Vice President Mobile Content of NVIDIA.

“Power is the new performance limiter. Developers need to use acceleration to preserve battery life and high performance,” he said at NVIDIA Tech Talk at SIGGRAPH Asia in Hong Kong.

On the other hand, advanced mobile GPUs and new sensors are combining to make vision processing the next wave of mobile visual processing. NVIDIA is building a stack of advanced silicon, APIs and libraries to enable advanced mobile vision applications.

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GSMA and ITU to drive mobile broadband in APAC

GSMAGSMA is collaborating with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in a new programme to encourage the development of mobile broadband in the Asia-Pacific region.

The new “m-Powering for Mobile Broadband” campaign will facilitate the exchange of experiences and sharing of best practices in specific policy areas with the goal of encouraging investment in mobile broadband infrastructure, instilling consumer confidence in mobile applications and supporting the long-term growth of the sector.

“Mobile is a transformative technology that has had a significant economic and social impact not only in Asia, but on a global basis,” said Irene Ng, Head of GSMA Asia. “Mobile provides access to healthcare where there are no doctors, access to education where there are no teachers and access to financial services where there are no banks. GSMA is pleased to be working hand in hand with ITU to accelerate the widespread adoption of mobile broadband in Asia and the Pacific, and in turn, to enable new opportunities for economic growth, technological innovation and social development.”

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Your smartphone will be smarter than you by 2017

GartnerIn four years’ time, your smartphone may be smarter than you. It will be able to predict your next move, next purchase or interpret actions based on what it knows, according to Gartner. This insight will be performed based on an individual’s data gathered using cognizant computing — the next step in personal cloud computing.

“Mobile phones have turned into smartphones thanks to two things: technology and apps,” Carolina Milanesi, Research Vice President of Gartner. “Technology has added features such as cameras, locations and sensors, while apps have connected those to an array of functions that, for the most part, add and improve our day to day life from a social, knowledge, entertainment and productivity point of view.” 

What smartphones can do through apps has improved and broadened thanks to the personal cloud. “We assume that apps will acquire knowledge over time and get better with improved predictions of what users need and want, with data collection and response happening in real-time,” she added.

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Samsung drives road safety campaign in Singapore

Pledge your attentionDrive without mobile distractions — that’s the message from Samsung’s “The Road Comes First” campaign targeted at Singapore road users to promote the responsible use of mobile phones on the road.

Endorsed by the Traffic Police and Singapore Road Safety Council, the campaign aims to address the increasing problem of illegal mobile phone use among drivers. The number of summons increased 46 percent, from 1,169 between January to June in 2012 to 1,705 over the same period in 2013.

A Samsung-commissioned survey found that a large majority of 83 percent of the Singapore drivers surveyed admitted to using their mobile phones, without a hands-free kit, while at the wheel in the last 12 months. They were most likely to be using GPS or map applications, checking their mobile phone screens, and texting.

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Large screen smartphones gaining popularity

CanalysThe numbers are clear. Big is getting more popular. Large screen smart phones (five-inch and above) accounted for 22 percent of the quarter billion smartphones shipped in Q3. This is the highest number ever and translates to a staggering 56 million units.

Samsung is the dominant player in the large screen segment. Breaking this down further, 66 percent of the 56 million smart phones had a five-inch display, 31 percent had screens between five and six inches while just three percent had six-inch or larger screens.

According to Canalys, the smartphone market grew 44 percent year-on-year in Q3. The top two vendors, Samsung and Apple, maintained their positions, with market shares of 34 percent and 15 percent respectively. Huawei, Lenovo and LG completed the top five.

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Apple to dominate smartphone-integrated vehicle infotainment market

abi researchApple’s “iOS in the Car” will lead the market for in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) systems equipped with smartphone integration technologies, according to ABI Research.

It predicts that the market will grow substantially during the next five years to reach 35.1 million units globally by 2018. Of these, 49.8 percent will be equipped with Apple’s “iOS in the Car”, 43.6 percent with MirrorLink and 28.2 percent with other technologies.

Developments in the smartphone world are revolutionising consumers’ in-car expectations. Besides Internet connectivity itself, the ability to select apps whenever they choose is probably one of the IVI features that consumers value the most.

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Global video game market to reach US$93b

GartnerThe worldwide video game marketplace, which includes video game console hardware and software, online, mobile and PC games, will reach US$93 billion in 2013, up from $79 billion in 2012, according to Gartner.

Driven by strong mobile gaming and video game console and software sales, the market is forecast to hit US$111 billion by 2015.

Mobile games are the fastest-growing segment of the market, with revenue set to nearly double between 2013 and 2015 from US$13.2 billion to US$22 billion.

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Touch-enabled notebooks top wish list

IDCTouch is in. Beyond touch screen phones, users in Asia-Pacific want touch-enabled notebooks.

According to an IDC Asia-Pacific end user survey, 82 percent of respondents prefer a touch-enabled notebook for their next purchase.

The annual survey that studies end user behaviour and usage on client devices. The usage explosion of smartphones and tablets, where touch screen is a prominent feature, is a key driver of taking these screens to the personal computer. The study also finds that the majority of PC users today, even in emerging markets, own a smartphone, especially for 26-35 year olds at 87 percent. 

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Mobile device platforms move towards more integration

abi researchSeveral trends are affecting the market for mobile device semiconductors. Two have been the shift towards multi-core application processors and the addition of x86 and MIPS to what used to be purely an ARM play. Two newer trends are the addition of heterogeneous processing functionality and 64-bit processors for mobile devices, according to ABI Research.

The trend towards more integrated platforms is the most crucial because the revenue of standalone components is folding into integrated platforms and the revenue for mobile device semiconductors lie with the higher cost components – mostly the application processor.

While the shift from standalone components to integrated platforms is drastic over the next five years in terms of shipments, this shift is even more radical in terms of revenue. From 2013 to 2018, the share of integrated platforms compared to all application processors in terms of shipments will jump from 46 percent to 79 percent while the revenue shares of the same will be higher. Smartphone application processor (integrated and standalone) revenue as a percentage of total mobile device semiconductor revenue for the major components will increase from 71 percent in 2013 to 89 percent in 2018.

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Lower-priced products to drive devices growth in 2013

GartnerLower-priced devices are driving the growth of worldwide combined shipments of PCs, tablets and mobile phones in 2013, according to Gartner. The global devices market is expected to hit 2.32 billion units, a 4.5 percent increase from 2012.

Worldwide shipments of traditional PCs (desk-based and notebook) are forecast to total 303 million units in 2013, an 11.2 percent decline from 2012, and the PC market, including ultramobiles, is forecast to drop 8.4 percent. Mobile phone shipments are projected to grow 3.7 percent, with volume of more than 1.8 billion units.

Tablet shipments are expected to grow 42.7 percent this year, with shipments reaching 184 million units. Premium tablets are faced with continued price decline in the 7-inch form factor as a larger number of consumers prefer smaller form factors when it comes to content consumption.

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ANZ WLAN market boosted by increase in devices

IDCThe wireless local area network (WLAN) hardware market in ANZ continued to grow for the third consecutive quarter, according to IDC.

While enterprises remained the largest users of wireless infrastructure, the consumer space gained share from enterprise over the year. This means that more consumer wireless routers were sold, thanks to an increased number of devices in households during the period.

Service Provider (SP) WLAN deployments differed between Australia and New Zealand. New Zealand SPs embraced 3G/LTE offload via WLAN infrastructure while Australia SPs preferred to rely on available spectrum to support mobile connectivity. Overall, SP contribution to the WLAN market remained minuscule in the region despite having the strongest growth. Table 1 shows growth for the three main segments quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) and year-on-year (YoY):

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Huawei launches evaluation platform for mobile app developers

HuaweiHuawei has announced MBB Insider Online, a cloud-based mobile platform for evaluating mobile broadband (MBB) app network friendliness.

Developed by mLAB, Huawei’s wireless network innovation lab, MBB Insider Online allows app developers and other third-party MBB ecosystem companies to take unique advantage of evaluation tools that accurately determine the impact their services will have in terms of consumption of traffic, signaling, device power and delivered user experience when installed on a smart device connected to a live mobile network.

These developers can then better fully utilise network resources to considerably enhance their delivered service experience. MBB Insider Online also provides app optimisation recommendations to improve delivered user experience and optimise utilisation of network resources.

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Mobile money deployment on the rise

GSMAThe adoption of mobile money is increasing with 208 live deployments for unbanked services in 83 countries, compared to 178 in 74 countries as of January, asccording to GSMA’s 2013 Mobile Money Adoption Survey. Another 117 deployments are planned over the coming months.

The report underscores the critical role of mobile and mobile network operators (MNOs) in driving the adoption of convenient and affordable financial services among unbanked and under-banked individuals around the world.

“The impressive and encouraging results of the study demonstrate that mobile money services are increasingly reaching scale and are becoming even more essential in providing convenient and affordable financial services to the underserved,” said Chris Locke, Managing Director, GSMA Mobile for Development.

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HTC One upsized

HTC One maxThe HTC One has gotten a bigger brother — the 5.9-inch HTC One max. Just like the recently launched Apple iPhone 5S, the new smartphone has a fingerprint scan feature. Located on the back of the device, the fingerprint scanner allows users to lock or unlock the screen and quickly launch up to three favourite applications by assigning an individual finger to each.

With a larger and full HD1080p display, users can better enjoy photos, videos and movies. Driving the smartphone is the quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor featuring a quad-core 1.7 GHz CPU.

The 16GB or 32GB onboard memory can be expanded with the microSD card slot, and with up to 65GB of Google Drive storage free for two years offered to HTC One max owners.

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Innovation and brand equity key for China smartphone makers in global market

frost and sullivanChina smartphone makers looking to take their domestic success globally need to carefully consider their expansion strategies, according to Frost & Sullivan.

While the China market has been driven by demand for cheap devices that offer a unique range of services such a virtual goods, messaging apps, and photo sharing, the more mature Western markets are very different, with carrier relationships, strong brand equity, and innovative features crucial to success.

Along with Huawei and ZTE, three interesting China companies have ambitions to take their smartphone businesses international: Lenovo, Yulong Coolpad and Xiaomi. The first and most successful China smartphone company is Lenovo, which has the largest smartphone market share of China companies, second only to Korean giant Samsung in China. Lenovo is also one of the most diversified China electronics companies, with a broad portfolio. The company has already achieved success on the global stage with its PC business, now the world’s largest after overtaking HP in 2012.

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Gartner: Top 10 strategic technology trends for 2014

Gartner3D printing, personal cloud, the Internet of Everything — these buzzwords today are expected to be among the top 10 strategic technology trends next year, according to Gartner.

Gartner defines a strategic technology as one with the potential for significant impact on the enterprise in the next three years. Factors that denote significant impact include a high potential for disruption to IT or the business, the need for a major dollar investment, or the risk of being late to adopt.

A strategic technology may be an existing technology that has matured and/or become suitable for a wider range of uses. It may also be an emerging technology that offers an opportunity for strategic business advantage for early adopters or with potential for significant market disruption in the next five years. These technologies impact the organisation’s long-term plans, programs and initiatives.

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Beginning of the Digital Industrial Economy

GartnerWorldwide IT spending is forecast to reach US$3.8 trillion in 2014, a 3.6 percent increase from 2013, but it’s the opportunities of a digital world that have IT leaders excited, according to Gartner.

The beginning of the Digital Industrial Economy will make every budget an IT budget; every company a technology company; every business a digital leader, and every person a technology company.

“The Digital Industrial Economy will be built on the foundations of the Nexus of Forces (which includes a confluence and integration of cloud, social collaboration, mobile and information) and the Internet of Everything by combining the physical world and the virtual,” said Peter Sondergaard, Senior Vice President of Gartner and Global Head of Research.

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ANZ mobile phone market declines

IDCThe ANZ mobile phone market has dropped by five percent quarter-over-quarter and over 20 percent year-over-year, according to IDC.

More than 2.6 million devices were shipped in Q2, a contraction that is mainly attributed to the declining feature phone segment in which shipments fell by over 45 percent compared to last year. What was shocking was the slight decline in smartphones shipments during the period.

 

Despite the quarter witnessing some notable product launches such as Samsung’s flagship Galaxy S4, smartphones shipments saw a marginal fall compared to the previous quarter.

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Android-based tablets taking over the lead

abi researchA shift in leadership is now upon the tablet mobile computing market, observed ABI Research.

At the year’s mid-point, the market intelligence firm has identified a trio of events signalling Apple’s iPad family of products has passed the baton to the Android ecosystem. During Q2, the number of Android-powered tablets surpassed iOS-based slates for the first time, tablet-related hardware revenues reached parity, and perhaps most important, the average selling price (ASP) of iPad is rapidly approaching the market average.

Overall shipments in the quarter dropped 17 percent sequentially while growing 23 percent year-over-year for the same quarterly period. “Smaller 7-inch class tablets are finally the majority of shipments,” says Jeff Off, Senior Practice Director at ABI Research. “The 7.9-inch iPad mini represented about 60 percent of total iPad shipments and 49 percent of iPad-related device revenues in the quarter.”

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Samsung Galaxy Note 3 “region locked”

Galaxy Note 3 pinkAfter the first Samsung Galaxy Note 3 reached the hands of eager fans, one glaringky unwanted feature was spotted — the smartphone has region locked its SIM card.

This brought about a flurry of media reports on why Samsung would do such a thing and how this was a backward move, similar to the region locking of DVDs. Concerned users began lamenting that if this was the case, then they cannot swap in a local SIM card when they are travelling to another region.

But, UK Mobile Review has managed to ease nerves by testing this feature of the Galaxy Note 3. After first using a UK SIM card with the handset, the online media was able to use a UAE SIM card later. Seems that the trick is to use a SIM card from the region from which the smartphone is first purchased to activate the phone and then it can be used with SIM cards issued anywhere else.

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Myanmar’s devices market set for explosive growth

IDCMyanmar’s devices market is on target to take centre stage as the country hurtles towards becoming an ICT-driven nation, according to IDC.

Following the award of telecommunications licenses to Telenor and Ooredoo, SIM cards and service provision has dipped considerably towards levels even low-wage earners are able to afford. IDC expects this to drive a considerable uptake in demand for both mobile phones and tablets.

“The Myanmar government has set highly ambitious targets for mobile subscriber penetration over the next two years. At this point, they are on the right track, but there is still much work left to be done,” said Daniel Pang, ASEAN Research Manager for Client Devices at IDC Asia/Pacific.

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1m out-of-school Filipinos to get access to mEducation

GSMAGSMA is collaborating with the Philippines government agencies and all mobile network operators across the K-12 spectrum to provide up to one million Filipino out-of-school youths (OSYs) with additional opportunities to access education, including technical vocational (tech-voc) education, via mobile media.

The ground-breaking cooperation on mEducation involves government partners including the Philippines Department of Education (DepEd) and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), and mobile operators Digitel Mobile Philippines Inc. (DMPI), Globe Telecom and Smart Communications.

The operators are co-operating to complement the efforts of multiple government agencies by extending knowledge to OSYs, especially those in underserved areas and geographically isolated communities, with the support and reach of mobile technology. The National Statistics Office of the Philippines reports that in 2011, there were at least 6.24 million out-of-school youths in the country.

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Blackberry to change hands

Blackberry Q5Blackberry has agreed to be sold to Fairfax Financial Holdings for US$4.7 billion.

Fairfax, which already owns around 10 percent of BlackBerry, will pay US$9 per share for Blackberry, and take the company private. However, the deal is not done yet as Fairfax can walk away any time under the terms of the agreement.

“Unless Fairfax plans to radically change or accelerate BlackBerry’s strategy, it’s unlikely to be able to turn the company around. And that means we’re likely seeing the beginning of the end for one of the most iconic brands in mobile technology,” said Jan Dawson, Chief Telecoms Analyst of Ovum.

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Microsoft introduces Surface 2 powered by NVIDIA Tegra 4

Surface 2Microsoft has introduced Surface 2, the successor to the ill-fated Surface RT, for which the company booked a US$900 million loss. So, what’s the difference between the first iteration and this new version?

“Surface 2 is not subtle, but is a revamp. It is not the simple changes that everybody wants, but it’s the changes people need,” said Panos Panay, Surface Chief of Microsoft.

It’s powered by the NVIDIA Tegra 4, which should provide a major performance boost over the first-generation Surface RT tablet. The chip’s ARM Cortex-A15 quad-core CPU and 72 GeForce GPU cores should help the device fly across web browsing, zip through Office applications and deliver immersive DirectX gaming experiences.

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Samsung rolls out Galaxy Tab 3 (10.1-inch) with LTE in Singapore

Galaxy Tab 3 10.1 with LTEJust when you thought that the Galaxy line-up was packed, Samsung has unleashed yet another model — the Galaxy Tab 3 (10.1-inch) with LTE in Singapore.

Offering an expanded range of options along with previously announced 7-inch and 8-inch versions, the Galaxy Tab 3 (10.1-inch) with LTE is packed with enhanced content and intuitive design for viewing or sharing content.

Stacked with a 1.6 GHz Dual Core processor, it features a comprehensive suite of video, music, and photo software, making it ideal for mobile entertainment.

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Local smartphone makers best Apple in China market

abi researchTo most people around the world, Coolpad, Lenovo and Xiaomi don’t quite ring a bell when it comes to smartphones. But, in China, these three Chinese smartphone OEMs outsold Apple in Q2, according to ABI Research.

Only Samsung managed to hold its own but snaring a 17 percent market share. Lenovo was next with 13 percent, Coolpad with 10 percent and Xiaomi edged out Apple with 6.5 percent.

“Even though these OEMs are only selling into the Chinese market, the size of the market has allowed them to achieve shipment volumes that place these OEMs in the top 12 globally. It is not hard to imagine these OEMs as global competitors within the next two years,” said Michael Morgan, Senior Analyst of ABI Research.

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Samsung Galaxy Note 3 available in HK on Sep 25

Galaxy Note 3The much awaited Samsung Galaxy Note 3 will be available in Hong Kong on September 25. Coming in black and white, the suggested retail price of the 3G and 4G LTE versions are HK$5,998 andHK$6,198 respectively.

The phablet packs innovative features where users can enjoy captivating viewing experience on the 5.7-inch full HD Super AMOLDED screen that offers a stunning and divine viewing experience with a clear canvas for content creation. It also comes with an enhanced S Pen and multitasking features.

“Some people may often feel that the latest gadgets out there offer a contradicting feeling to our users because while you’re very engaged with your product, you tend to neglect the things around you. With the latest Galaxy Note 3, you will be able to enjoy a delightful mobile experience that brings passion to life,” said Yiyin Zhou, Director of Telecom Business, Samsung Electronics Hong Kong Limited.

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Tablets to outship PCs in Q4

IDCTablets and smartphone shipment will continue to drive growth in 2013, according to IDC, which expects tablet shipment to surpass total PC shipment (desktop plus portable PCs) in Q4. The worldwide smart connected device market, comprising PCs, tablets, and smartphones, is forecast to grow 27.8 percent year over year in 2013, slightly lower than the 30.3 percent growth in 2012.

PCs shipment is still expected to be greater than tablet shipment for the full year, but IDC forecasts tablet shipments will surpass total PC shipments on an annual basis by the end of 2015. Smartphones will continue to ship in high volumes, surpassing 1.4 billion units in 2015 and accounting for 69 percent of all smart connected device shipments worldwide.

In terms of shipment value, the worldwide smart connected device market will again exhibit double-digit year-over-year growth of 10.6 percent in 2013, but this growth will gradually slow to just 3.1 percent in 2017. The tapering revenue forecast reflects the increasing impact of low-cost smartphones and the white box tablet market.

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Global smartphone shipment to hit 1b in 2013

IDCOne billion smartphones are expected to be shipped this year, helping the global mobile phone market to rebound from just 1.2 percent growth in 2012 to 7.3, percent in 2013, according to IDC Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker.

The overall mobile phone market is growing faster than previously forecast thanks to a stronger-than-expected first half of the year driven by strong gains in emerging markets and the sub-US$200 smartphone segment. IDC previously projected 5.8 percent growth for the year. Vendors are now forecast to ship more than 1.8 billion mobile phones this year, growing to over 2.3 billion mobile phones in 2017.

Worldwide smartphone shipment is forecast to grow 40.0 percent year over year to more than one billion units this year. High smartphone growth is the result of a variety of factors, including steep device subsidies from carriers, especially in mature economic markets, as well as a growing array of sub-US$200 smartphones. Total smartphone shipment is forecast to reach 1.7 billion units in 2017.

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Xiaomi introduces world’s first NVIDIA Tegra 4-powered super phone

Xiaomi Mi3China mobile device maker Xiaomi has announced  the Xiaomi Mi3, the world’s first to be based on the NVIDIA Tegra 4 mobile processor. 

Delivering superb gaming and lightning-fast web browsing, the flagship phone represents the first collaboration between NVIDIA and Xiaomi. The Mi3 will launch on China Mobile, the world’s largest carrier, in October.

Based on the Tegra 4 – the world’s fastest mobile processor — the phone combines premium specs and features with all-day battery life. In addition to Tegra 4, it includes a 5-inch 1080p full HD display with 441ppi, 2GB RAM and up to 64GB of storage. The Tegra 4 processor offers record levels of performance and battery life with its 72-core NVIDIA GeForce GPU, quad-core ARM Cortex-A15 and fifth battery-saver CPU core, also based on Cortex-A15.

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Android mobile app revenue to hit US$6.8b this year

AndroidAndroid’s smartphone mobile app revenues are projected to reach almost US$6.8 billion by the end of 2013, nearly doubling its revenues from the previous year, according to ABI Research.

The Android platform has some way to go before catching iOS’s smartphone revenues but the smartphone app market will be Android’s most fruitful hunting ground compared to other devices.

ABI Research estimates that Android smartphone app revenues will increase from 59.1 percent to 65.9 percent when compared to iOS smartphone app revenues over the next 12 months.

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Mobile privacy concern could limit widespread adoption of mobile apps in Malaysia and Indonesia

GSMAMobile users in Malaysia and Indonesia are concerned with mobile privacy, according to a new research by GSMA and local mobile operators.

The study of more than 1,500 Malaysian and Indonesian mobile users shows that increased transparency and choice in how their personal data is collected and shared could boost take-up of mobile apps in Indonesia. The mobile apps market globally is worth US$29 billion and growing at 36 per cent per annum. The research was presented at a Data Protection and Privacy Conference hosted by the GSMA, Celcom Axiata and DiGi in Kuala Lumpur.

“It is clear that mobile users are concerned about their privacy and are more likely to interact with apps and receive targeted promotions if they feel it is respected,” said Tom Phillips, Chief Government and Regulatory Affairs Officer of GSMA.

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Asian brands boost APAC smartphone shipment

IDC APEJ Q2 smartphone
Source: IDC

Homegrown brands are gaining more market share in the Asia-Pacific (excluding Japan) (APEJ) smartphone market. While Samsung continues to lead the smartphone pack, Apple fell out of the top five in the region for the first time. Chinese players — Lenovo, Coolpad, Huawei and ZTE — all outshipped Apple in the Q2, according to the IDC Asia/Pacific Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker.

Aside from the top-tier international brands or Chinese brands that also ship globally such as Huawei and ZTE, there is also a rising segment of homegrown brands, which as a group have been steadily rising in shipments and prominence. This group of players comprised 38 percent of Q2 volume, up from 20 percent in the same quarter of 2012, and 7 percent in Q2 2011.
“There is clearly a market maturity story at play here, where the trends could not be more different between mature markets and emerging markets,” said Melissa Chau, Senior Research Manager with IDC AP’s Client Devices team. “Seasonally, second quarter usually shows an uptick in mature markets, but this round shipments dropped by 12 percent quarter-on-quarter, while emerging markets increased by 13 percent.

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Samsung tops ABI Research’s tablet competitive assessment

abi researchKorean giant Samsung has nudged aside all competition in ABI Research’s assessment of 19 top tablets.

The  competitive assessment ranked companies on several criteria related to both product implementation and vendor innovation.

Samsung bested all other tablet vendors in the innovation category while scoring second overall in the implementation category. Clearly king of the hill when it comes to tablet shipment volumes, Apple trailed Samsung on tablet Innovation landing in second.

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WeChat soars past 100m registered users milestone

WeChat infographicWeChat has surpassed the 100 million registered user account milestone. That’s remarkable considering the strong competition it is up against.

In the last three months, it doubled its registered user account base reaching the 100 million milestone shortly after an independent survey found that the platform was the fifth most used smartphone app worldwide.  

Since its international debut, WeChat has been well received in Asia, quickly becoming the most popular mobile social app in Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, and Malaysia across multiple smartphone OS platforms, where the user base has recently gained tremendous growth. 

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Tablets fail to lift flat PC market in Q2

Tablet shipment’s growth 42.9 percent iwas not enough to lift a sluggish PC market in Q2. Desktop and notebook shipments fell 7.4 percent and 13.9 percent respectively, according to Canalys, which believes that tablets will outsell notebooks by Q4.

PC shipment in the Asia Pacific region declined 0.5 percent year-on-year to just over 40 million units. The region was badly affected by slow shipment in China, which accounted for almost 45 percent of the region’s shipment and declined by about six percent.

Demand for smartphones and tablets is increasing around the world. Faced by an industry in transition, channel partners are exercising caution when planning and placing orders.

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China’s top five vendors grab 20% of the world’s smartphone market

CanalysSamsung and Apple grew smartphone shipment by 55 percent and 20 percent respectively to maintain first and second place in Q2, according to Canalys.

However, both lost market share to Chinese vendors as the top 5 China vendors (Lenovo, Yulong, Huawei, ZTE, and Xiaomi) now account for 20 percent of the  market, up from less than 15 percent a year ago.

Altogether, some 238.1 million units were shipped in Q2, an impressive 50 percent year-on-year gain.

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Samsung dominates almost every device price point

abi researchSamsung has a device for every price point, giving it leadership in all, bar one category — the high end where it faces Apple.

According to ABI Research’s Device Portal sales channel analysis, the balance of power remains with Samsung/Android and Apple and looks set to remain so in the foreseeable future.

“This leaves little room for the other vendors to compete, especially the other Android vendors and those using uncompetitive operating system ecosystems. Despite some carrier’s efforts to create a more balanced smartphone device vendor industry with their use of subsidy, ultimately they are obliged to fulfill consumer demand and at the moment that means Samsung/Android and Apple,” said Nick Spencer, Senior Practice Director of ABI Research.

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