Boston, MA – July 29, 2013 – According to the latest research from Strategy Analytics, global tablet shipments reached 51.7 million units in the second quarter of 2013.  Android secured a robust 67 percent global share, while Apple iOS declined further to 28 percent.  Windows also fell back but secured a 4.5 percent global share.

Peter King, Director of Tablets at Strategy Analytics, said, “Global Branded Tablet shipments reached 36.2 million units in Q2 2013, up 47 percent from 24.6 million in Q2 2012.  The branded Tablet market had a rest period as very few new products came to market during the quarter.  When we add in White-Box Tablets, shipments reached 51.7 million units, up 43 percent from 36.1 million in Q2 2012.  Android is now making steady progress due to hardware partners like Samsung, Amazon, Google and White-Box tablets which, despite the fact that branded OEMs are lowering price-points and putting pressure on the White-Box manufacturers, are still performing well,” King added, “Apple iOS shipments were 14.6 million iPads in Q2 2013 which declined 14 percent annually.  In the same quarter a year ago the first Retina display iPads were launched which could partly explain the decline as there were no new models in this quarter.  However, to compensate that, iPad Mini which was not available a year ago, now freely available was expected to take the figure higher than 14.6 million.”

Other findings from the research include:

• Microsoft captured a niche 4.5 percent global tablet share in Q2 2013.  There may be an uptick in Windows RT shipments in Q3 following savage price cuts by all the partners still involved in the RT Market.  Microsoft has reduced prices by $150 and other vendors even more; they are still not cheap but are much more where they should be to compete.  The shortage of apps continues to be a problem, with seemingly little incentive for developers to work on the platform.

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Androidly is a full-fledged smartphone that you wear on your wrist. Most smartwatches out there today merely serve as a complement to your smartphone by displaying incoming texts, tweets, and other notifications, but Androidly is able to function entirely on its own.

It runs a three-year-old version of Android called Froyo and can run apps downloaded from the Google Play store.

The ultimate goal is to totally replace your smartphone. In fact, Androidly co-founder and CCO Pavneet Puri told Business Insider that smartwatches will replace smartphones all together in the future.

“I never actually take my really expensive phones out anymore because I’m just going to lose it,” Androidly co-founder and CCO Puri said.

Since the watch functions as a true smartphone,  you never have to worry about where your phone is, Puri says.

“It’s like an extended limb,” Puri says.

Androidly is currently available for pre-order at prices varying from $229 to $269. The company expects to start shipping the devices in September.

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According to data gathered by NPD Group, Android phones are now the second most popular handsets behind Research in Motion’s BlackBerry range. RIM’s devices accounted for 36 per cent of the US smartphone market in the first quarter of this year, says NPD Group, followed by Android-based phones with 28 per cent, and Apple’s iPhone with 21 per cent.

However, experts have pointed out that there are more than 30 phones available in the United State that run Android, the open-source mobile operating system backed by Google and a consortium of partners in the Open Handset Alliance. These include handsets from Motorola, HTC and Samsung.

By contrast, Apple’s current iPhone, the iPhone 3GS, is believed to be coming to the end of its life cycle, with Apple poised to unveil the so-called iPhone 4G at the Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco next month. Apple said it had sold more than 50 million iPhones worldwide since the device first went on sale in July 2007.

Mobile devices are a key battleground for consumer electronics companies, with many traditional “computer” manufacturers diversifying in to the market. HP recently acquired Palm, while Dell is launching a range of Android-based handsets.

“As in the past, carrier distribution and promotion have played a crucial role in determining smartphone market share,” said Ross Rubin, executive director of industry analysis for NPD.

“Recent previews of BlackBerry 6, the recently announced acquisition of Palm by HP, and the pending release of Windows Phone 7 demonstrates the industry’s willingness to make investments to address consumer demand for smartphones and other mobile devices. Carriers continue to offer attractive pricing for devices, but will need to present other data-plan options to attract more customers in the future.”

Resource:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/mobile-phones/7711113/Android-phones-outsell-iPhone.html

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A storefront in one of the busiest shopping districts in downtown Portland, Ore., is painted black, with “Droid Does” in large letters over the doors.

Orchestrated by carrier Verizon Wireless, aggressive promotions such as this one for Motorola’s (MOT) Android smartphone, plus a blitz of direct mail, newspaper, and TV ads, and two-for-one deals on Android-powered handsets, lifted first-quarter sales of smartphones based on Google’s (GOOG) Android operating system above sales of Apple’s (AAPL) iPhone for the first time, market researcher NPD Group reported on May 10.

Android-powered phones accounted for 28 percent of all smartphones sold in the U.S., exceeding Apple’s 21 percent share during the quarter, NPD said. Research in Motion’s (RIMM) BlackBerry models led the category with a 36 percent share.

Leapfrogging Apple is an important milestone—and not just for Android, an open-source software developed by a consortium of companies led by Google.

NPD’s report also shows how quickly Verizon Wireless has become a central player in the fast-growing market for the pocket computers known as smartphones.

In the first quarter, Verizon customers bought 30 percent of all smartphones sold in the U.S., nearly equaling the 32 percent share of AT&T (T), which has an exclusive contract to sell the iPhone, according to the report.

AT&T also sells an Android handset from Motorola and plans to carry an upcoming Android smartphone from Dell (DELL).

Verizon No Longer Seen as Desperate

Until recently, Verizon was an also-ran in the smartphone market. It carried the BlackBerry, but didn’t have a breakthrough consumer-oriented smartphone to compete with the iPhone. Analysts were calling for Verizon to strike a deal with Apple to distribute the iPhone.

Last December, Verizon said it had effected network upgrades that would enable its network to handle extra traffic should Apple decide to expand the number of carriers authorized to sell iPhones.

Last November’s launch of the Android-powered Droid improved Verizon’s fortunes in the smartphone market. The Droid, with its sleek design and ability to run many downloadable apps—and backed by a highly visible marketing campaign—is helping Verizon catch up.

In the past several months, Verizon Wireless has proven that if it does get the iPhone, “it won’t be out of some pressing need,” says Tavis McCourt, an analyst at Morgan Keegan & Co. (RF), who has an “outperform” rating on Apple shares.

Rising shipments of Android phones could also spur developers to create additional apps for the platform. “Market share is a contributing factor to which operating system developers want to support,” says Ross Rubin, executive director of industry analysis at NPD.

On Apr. 15, the Android Market app store carried 38,000 applications such as games, calendars, and e-books. Apple’s App Store has more than 200,000 apps, the company says.

Android Taking Share From Most

The smartphone market is experiencing a flurry of activity. Apple is expected to introduce a new version of the iPhone this summer. Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) on Apr. 28 announced it would buy Palm (PALM) for $1.2 billion.

And Microsoft (MSFT) is expected to release a new smartphone operating system called Windows Phone 7 in the second half of the year. NPD analyst Rubin says consumers aren’t likely to hold off on buying iPhones in anticipation of the new model. “We don’t tend to see a lot of purchase delay,” he says.

In the third quarter of 2009, Android phones claimed only 3 percent of the U.S. smartphone market. In the first quarter, Android phones have taken market share away from Apple, RIM, Microsoft, and Palm, according to NPD.

RIM’s unit share of U.S. smartphone sales slipped a bit from 37 percent in the fourth quarter, when the Droid and several other Android phones went on sale, to 36 percent in the first quarter, according to NPD.

Microsoft Windows’ share dropped from 13 percent in the fourth quarter, to 10 percent in the first quarter.

Verizon’s Android line up includes Motorola Droid and Devour phones, plus the new Droid Incredible from HTC.

“There’s no question Apple’s done a great job with the iPhone,” Verizon Chief Financial Officer John Killian said during the company’s first-quarter call with investors on Apr. 22. “But look at our results.”

Resource:
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/may2010/tc20100510_027179.htm

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According to a report in The New York Post, the US Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission have entered negotiations over which of the two will handle the probe into the IT giant’s attempt to force developers to use only Apple programming tools.

Sources say authorities are only days away from launching an inquiry.

Apple’s move came after Adobe was forced to issue an embarrassing apology for not having fixed known, long-term bugs in the software.

Writing in his personal blog at the end of April, Adobe’s Mike Chambers took a swipe at Apple for a recent update to the iPhone developers’ licence that sees app designers barred from using Flash CS5, along with a number of other third-party APIs.

The war of words escalated, and Apple CEO Steve Jobs’ eye-watering response to Adobe’s protests led the Flash creator to announce it had given up on Apple. In future, the company said, it would concentrate on developing Flash tools that would work on all rival devices.

Jobs had already sparked controversy for telling journalists from the Wall Street Journal that Flash would reduce the phone’s battery life from ten hours down to just an hour and a half.

The inquiry will focus on whether Apple’s policy, which came into effect last month, hampers competition by forcing programmers to choose between developing apps that can run only on Apple devices, and creating ones that are platform-neutral, also running on devices using rival operating systems such as Google’s Android.

Resource:
http://www.thinq.co.uk/news/2010/5/4/antitrust-probe-over-apple-flash-stance/

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The increase in sales is due to a slew of new Android devices which have hit the market in recent months, not least the HTC Desire – which, over the past few weeks, has been added to the range of most major mobile operators and been well received by critics. Vodafone, meanwhile, started selling the HTC Legend at the start of April, adding it to a list of Android devices available in the UK which includes the HTC Hero and Xperia X10 from Sony Ericsson.

GfK, whose pronouncements about the retail industry are pored over by City analysts, said that Android handsets accounted for 12.3% of all phones sold to customers signing up for a long-term mobile phone contract in week 15 of 2010 – the week ending on April 18 – compared with just 3% of the market in week 12, the last week of March. In terms of the total market, Android’s share grew from 1.6% to 6.7% during the period.

As for smartphone devices – which GfK defines as the market for phones that can download applications from third party providers, so it includes the iPhone – they now account for 37.6% of the total mobile handset market and 63.9% of the contract market. GfK said the figure has remained relatively stable so Android is gaining market share from rival platforms, rather than merely benefitting from an overall increase in smartphone uptake. GfK refused to give details of the market share of other operating systems.

“It’s not down to one particular handset,” said a spokesman for GfK. “More and more of the major handset manufacturers are viewing Android as a useful solution and using it in their smartphones”.

More Android devices will become available in the UK over the coming weeks. Google’s Nexus One, for instance, went on sale through Vodafone’s stores and website today, a new Android phone from LG – the Optimus GT540 – is due out next month, while Samsung is due to add the Galaxy S to the current Galaxy Portal (i5700) which is already available in the UK.

Vodafone, meanwhile, will next month launch an Android phone designed for the mass-market as part of a “refresh” of its portfolio of own-branded devices. Vodafone has turned to Chinese manufacturers Huawei, ZTE and TCL as the mobile phone network looks to push smartphones into the mass market.

The company announced nine new handsets in its own-brand range on Wednesday. Alongside some basic feature phones aimed at developing countries – including one called the Vodafone 247, which has a built-in solar panel that could find its way to the UK as an “eco-phone” – Vodafone announced new smartphones including the Vodafone 845.

The 2.8in touchscreen device is the first Vodafone branded phone that uses Google’s Android operating system and has been manufactured by Huawei, which until recently was best known in the mobile phone industry as the maker of 3G mobile broadband dongles. The Vodafone 845 runs on Éclair, the latest version of the Android platform and as well as being able to access thousands of applications it come pre-loaded with the Vodafone 360 service.

Fellow Chinese dongle manufacturer ZTE, meanwhile, is responsible for another smartphone in the new Vodafone range. The 546 has a qwerty keyboard and is aimed at developing countries which have not yet installed 3G networks. ZTE also produced the 247 for Vodafone.

Another Chinese manufacturer, TCL – which has a mobile phone joint venture with Alcatel – has produced a new touchscreen device for Vodafone called the 543, which is also aimed at the mass market.

Resource:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2010/apr/30/android-google-uk-market-share

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Google’s first foray into mobile phones was an upsetting affair. The company whose search engine changed the world had been rumoured to be planning something equally revolutionary in a sphere dominated by the iPhone. Rumours had swirled of a phone that was free – one that would be, like most other Google products, supported by advertising.

What we got was a slightly clunky new operating system, a regular contract and a brick-like phone, the G1, that sported a slide-out keyboard that was more Red Dwarf than Star Trek. Commentators at the time, including myself in this newspaper, said that it was, if anything, the very gentle lappings of the water at the beginning of a new wave.

Tomorrow, however, Vodafone launches the Nexus One in Britain. It’s the first handset that Google has designed, and it’s the first that genuinely begins to realise the potential of the company’s operating system, Android. The device offers total integration with email, the web and third-party applications in a way that even the iPhone has yet to offer, especially at this price.

Indeed, while the iPhone dominates media coverage, it’s only 2 per cent of the market. Just 20 per cent of it has anything that could be called a smartphone, the devices that are basically mini-computers that make phone calls. BlackBerries and iPhones are cutting edge, not mass market.

Google’s Android, however, is likely to change that. There are around 20 handsets running the system on the market and because the system can be used and adapted freely by any manufacturer, it’s available from Samsung, Sony Ericsson and soon even budget manufacturers such as Alcatel.

At some point in the next few years, it won’t be a surprise if the majority of all handsets are running a version of Google’s operating system, just as the vast majority of British web searches use Google’s search engine. It’s simply the market at work – free and effective, Android offers a compelling option for both manufacturers and consumers. It will probably also kill of the satnav market because every phone offers a free Google Maps navigation and turn-by-turn directions.

There is, however, a problem for the Nexus One – although Google and the first operator to have it, Vodafone, will give the device an almighty marketing push, Google’s handset is not the best device available with Android. HTC, which has been at the forefront of Android hardware, has already produced the Desire. Essentially, it’s a souped-up Nexus One, offering a nicer screen, a better trackball and a faster processor. That means everything works faster. The Desire is free on a two-year contract at about £30 per month. The Nexus One is only on Vodafone at a similar price.

So Google’s tanks are on Apple’s lawn. The search giant doesn’t yet offer the eco-system of products and services that makes Apple’s iPhone so ubiquitous because there are too many Android handsets of different shapes and sizes. But make no mistake – Google will change the bulk of the market, will put the web and music in the majority of people’s pockets, and will probably not charge you a penny for it. There are few products that really make life both easier and cheaper – but Android is one of them.

Resource:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/google/7647230/Will-Android-eat-Apple.html

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Symbian might currently be the world’s most popular mobile OS, but the Finnish manufacturer is clearly concerned about the onward march of Google’s Android platform. The launch of the open source Symbian 3 is a direct retaliation and will present programmers and developers with a potentially lucrative new market.

Symbian aside, the N8 has a specification to impress. The real headline grabber is its built-in 12MP camera and the quality of Facebook snaps should improve, particularly with the addition of the Carl Zeiss optics and Xenon flash.

Even more impressively, the N8 supports high-definition (HD) video capture which can be played back on HD TV sets thanks to its HDMI support.

The sturdy 135g N8, braced by an aluminium frame, was shown off in five colour options – including fun lime green, orange and blue schemes.

However, despite its promising credentials, the N8 won’t arrive in shops until the third quarter of this year which is – crucially – after the next generation iPhone is expected to launch.

Ernest Doku, mobile phone expert at Omio.com, reckons Nokia is on to a winner.

He said: “The Finnish manufacturer has finally weighed in with their bid for smartphone supremacy and it’s looking good.

“Introducing a host of features and functionality that Nokia’s handsets have been sorely lacking for some time. Multi-touch and gesture support for pinch-to-zoom makes the N8 more finger friendly than ever before, with a 3.5-inch capacitive display proving the perfect home to prodding and poking.”

Nokia has quoted a retail price of around £320 and Omio.com is predicting the handset will be available on £35 a month contracts.

Resource:
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/

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The service, which could mark the slow decline of the stand alone satellite navigation industry, will be released as part of Google maps on any device (phone or others) running Android 1.6 or others.

The guy in charge of Google mobile maps, Steve Lee, attributed the delay in the launch of the UK version of the service to the fact that road layouts here are significantly different to the US with many more roundabouts.

Interestingly, the service will calculate and download an entire route and variations for the journey which means that it doesn’t need to connect continuously to its data source.

ZDNet reports that people with strong accents might find it tricky to get their orders to their Satnav through. There’s also the possibility of providing with the option to load regional maps which saves the cost of having to access data networks when abroad.

The announcement by Google that it was essentially giving away a satellite navigation solution capable of rivalling with entry level stand alone devices prompted Nokia to offer its own Ovi Maps service for free recently.

Resource:
http://www.itproportal.com/portal/news/article/2010/4/22/google-brings-free-satnav-uk-android-users/

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Little is known about the stealth company, whose founders created the A4 chip Apple uses in its iPad, before leaving for smaller pastures. These founders, according to the New York Times, joined Apple by way of PA Semi and left unhappy.

The Times and others believed Agnilux made servers, server chips, or at least something to do with computing for the love of all things high-tech.

In trying to divine what Google would want with the company, I suggested that perhaps Google wanted to plumb the minds of the engineers to build a chip for its alleged Android tablet:

Perhaps Agnilux has made a technological breakthrough in server processing, something major along the lines of what PeakStream provided for Google when the company acquired it to boost its application processing.

It could be that Google will take the chip work Agnilux has done and use it as the processing engine for a possible tablet. Remember, these Agnilux engineers did make the A4 powering the iPad and possibly the forthcoming iPhone 4 chip.

It seems I was right about the tablet connection between Google and Agnilux, but off base on the methodology, which I thought was hardware-based.

I believed Google bought Agnilux so its programmers could make a special chip for the Google tablet, allegedly based on Android and not Chrome Operating System.

The Times, advancing its original coverage of Agnilux April 21, cited a source who claimed: “It’s not chip design. It’s getting software platforms to work on different kinds of hardware with lots of obscure back-end technologies.” .

Specifically, this source told the Times Google “acquired the firm not for silicon expertise or to build actual hardware, but for help with porting Google platforms like its Chrome and Android operating systems onto other devices – like tablets, or possibly even television set-top boxes.

The set-top box angle is intriguing because it points to another rumored play, Google TV, in which the company is trying to make our plasmas another computer from which to surf the Web and watch YouTube.

Another source told the Times Agnilux’ technology could help Google run its software platforms on tablets “without draining the battery,” which is pretty much what these guys did for the iPad with the A4 chip.

This seems completely plausible and that’s why the Agnilux buy lends credence to the notion that a Google tablet is in the works.

Agnilux could be one of those foundational technologies on which Google rests its mobile Web device and platform strategy versus Apple, whose iPhone is entrenched and whose new iPad is strong and growing stronger.

Maybe we’ll look back at this quiet, innocuous-seeming buy and say Agnilux did for Google what its engineers did for Apple as employees of PA Semi.

Resource:
http://googlewatch.eweek.com/content/google_ma/googles_agnilux_play_is_about_the_google_tablet_after_all.html

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