1Q13: 1st time majority of all mobile phones sold were smartphones
According to IDC, the worldwide mobile phone market grew 4% year over year in Q1 of 2013. Vendors shipped 418.6 million mobile phones in 1Q13 compared to 402.4 million units in 1Q12 and 483.2 million in 4Q12. In the worldwide smartphone market, vendors shipped 216.2 million units in 1Q13, which marked the first time more than half (51.6%) the total phone shipments in a quarter were smartphones. The smartphone market grew 41.6% compared to the 152.7 million units shipped in 1Q12, but 5.1% lower than the 227.8 million units shipped in 4Q12. Samsung held the smartphone top spot with 32.7%, before Apple with 17.3%, with Samsung greatly extending its smartphone lead. -- Posted Friday, April 26, 2013 by chb

Apple reports fiscal 2Q13 results
Apple announced financial results for its fiscal 2013 second quarter ended March 30, 2013. The company posted quarterly revenues of US$43.6 billion and quarterly net profits of US$9.5 billion, or US$10.09 per diluted share. These results compare to revenues of US$39.2 billion and net profits of US$11.6 billion, or US$12.3 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. Gross margin was 37.5% compared to 47.4% in the year-ago quarter. International sales accounted for 66% of the quarter's revenues. -- Posted Wednesday, April 24, 2013 by chb

Smartphones outselling regular cellphones in 2013
More smartphones are forecast to be shipped globally than feature phones in 2013, the first such occurrence in the mobile phone market on an annual basis. According to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, vendors will ship 918.6 million smartphones this year, or 50.1% of the total mobile phone shipments worldwide. -- Posted Wednesday, March 6, 2013 by chb

Apple becomes largest mobile phone vendor in United States in Q4 2012
According to Strategy Analytics, mobile phone shipments grew 4% annually to reach 52 million units in the United States during the fourth quarter of 2012. Apple became the number one mobile phone vendor for the first time ever, capturing a record 34% market share. -- Posted Friday, February 1, 2013 by chb

News Corp to shut down "The Daily" tablet newspaper
CNN Money reports that News Corp is shutting down its "The Daily" tabled-based publication. Launched with an initial US$30 million investment, 100 staffers, and a US$26 million annual running cost, The Daily turned out to be financially unfeasible despite a claimed over 100,000 paying subs. [See CNN's article] -- Posted Monday, December 3, 2012 by chb

Socket Mobile adds iPhone 5 support for its cordless hand scanners
Socket Mobile announced iPhone 5 support for the Socket Bluetooth Cordless Hand Scanner (CHS) line of portable barcode scanners. Socket Mobile also said it has updated the SocketScan 10 SDK to take full advantage of the new A6 processor and taller screen of the iPhone 5. The ScannerSettings and SocketPad utilities for the CHS have also been updated on the Apple App Store with iPhone 5 and iPad mini support. -- Posted Monday, December 3, 2012 by chb

Apple doubles iPad launch weekend sales record
Apple said sales of the new iPads were three million the first weekend they were available, doubling the sales of the third gen iPad 3 during its first weekend of availability in march of 2012. Apple did not disclose how many of them were iPad 4s and how many iPad minis. -- Posted Monday, November 5, 2012 by chb

BlackBerry losing more large accounts
Reuters reports that ICE, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, will end its contract with BlackBerry maker Research In Motion and switch to Apple iPhones instead. This means that the ICE will get iPhones for its more than 17,600 employees. This comes a week after consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton said it was dropping BlackBerry and switching to iPhone and Android smartphones for its staff of around 25,000. [See Reuters release] -- Posted Tuesday, October 23, 2012 by chb

Almost overlooked: in-cell touch in iPhone 5
One interesting change in the new iPhone 5 (introduced September 12) that has hardly gotten any attention is that it is using in-cell touch technology instead of standard projected capacitive touch. There isn't much of a difference (or any) as far as users go, but since in-cell combines the touch sensing layer with the cover glass instead of using separate layers, there are a) fewer surfaces that can reflect light, b) the same intensity of backlight seems brighter, and c) eliminating a layer can reduce cost and thickness. For a detailed discussion of in-cell touch, see LCD In-Cell Touch by Geoff Walker and Mark Finh. For even more detail, see US patent #8,243,027 granted to Apple on August 14, 2012. -- Posted Monday, September 24, 2012 by chb

iOS 6 available for download
On September 19, 2012, Apple made iOS 6 available for download. The new version of the OS coincides with the release of the iPhone 5 which will be shipping as of September 21, 2012. Among major changes and new features are a new Apple-made Maps application, an improved Siri that is now also available on the iPad, Facebook integration, shared Photo Streams, a Passbook app for boarding passes and other cards, and numerous improvements in FaceTime, Mail, Safari, and throughout the OS. [See Apple's iOS 6 page] -- Posted Thursday, September 20, 2012 by chb

MacNeill on the new Apple EarPods
David MacNeill likes the new Apple headphgones. A lot. Here's what he says: "Run, do not walk to your friendly neighborhood Apple Store and buy the new Apple EarPods for your iPhone/iPad. One of the best headphones of any kind I've ever tried, owned or reviewed. The are stunningly sweet sounding, comfortable, and practical and they cost $29." [See the new headphones at the online Apple store] -- Posted Friday, September 14, 2012 by chb

iPhone alone bigger than all of Microsoft
According to CNNMoney, the iPhone alone is bigger than all of Microsoft, with US$74.3 billion in revenues for June 211 to June 2012, compared to Microsoft's overall revenues of US$73 billion. CNNMoney also said that the iPhone business alone would make a Fortune 50 company. [See CNNMoney article] -- Posted Friday, September 7, 2012 by chb

DigiTimes Research: Android widens lead in 2012
DigiTimes Research predicts that Android's market share will reach 67% for the full year of 2012, amounting to 426 million units. They project that Apple will ship 125.6 million iPhones, good for a share of 19.8%. Everyone else is pretty much also-rans: BlackBerry with 4.7%, Symbinan 4.1%, Windows Phone 3.4%, and the rest a paltry 0.8%. -- Posted Monday, August 20, 2012 by chb

Google laying off 4,000 Motorola Mobility employees
With the RAZR Moto once was on top of the world, and with the Droid the company rang in Android's smartphone dominance. Times quickly changed. First, tradition-rich Motorola Mobility got bought out by Google, and now Google is laying off 20% of Moto Mobility staff, 4,000 people. Moral of the story seems that being in the cellphone and smartphone business is an exceedingly bumpy, unreliable ride. -- Posted Monday, August 13, 2012 by chb

iPad has 72% marketshare in China in Q2 2012
DigiTimes reports that, according to Chinese Analysys International, the Apple iPad grabbed 72% tablet marketshare in China for Q2 of 2012. Lenovo was a very distant second at just 8.4%, Samsung, Acer, Asus, etc., all had under 4%. Given the large number of Chinese "white box" tablets, the iPad's dominance is surprising. -- Posted Wednesday, August 8, 2012 by chb

Nokia's dire situation
Things look dim for Nokia, the former undisputed Number 1 in cellphones. Completely sleeping through the smartphone revolution, Nokia's stock dropped 98% since 2000, and the upcoming release of the latest financials on July 19 could make things worse. The flagship Lumina 9000 phone is selling poorly, according to market researcher Asymco only about 330,000 units in the all-important US market where Nielsen says the Windows Phone market share has dropped to just 0.3%. Add to that the fact that the upcoming Windows Phone 8 is incompatible with any older versions of Windows Phone, including the 7.5 version installed on the Lumina 9000, and Nokia will have to pull a major rabbit out of its hat to remain relevant. -- Posted Monday, July 16, 2012 by chb

iPhone 3GS battery replacement: not for the timid
With millions of people replacing their older iPhones with newer ones, what happens to the old ones? Well, some are sold to one of the several used electronics merchandisers, others directly on eBay, or they may be passed on to friends or family less obsessed with having the latest and greatest. Many iPhone users simply keep their old one, either letting it gather dusk in a drawer somewhere, or perhaps actually using it via WiFi as a fancy iPod Touch. But there is one problem with older iPhones: the battery. [read more] -- Posted Saturday, June 16, 2012 by chb

IDC releases Q1 2012 smartphone numbers and report
According to a press release by IDC on their latest Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, 152 million smartphones were shipped in Q1 2012. In smartphones, Android commanded a 59.0% marketshare (up from 36.1% a year ago), with Apple's iOS second with 23.0% (up from 18.3%). The big losers were Symbian with 6.8% (down from 26.0%) and RIM with 6.4% (down from 13.6%). Microsoft came in 6th with 2.2%, down from 3.1%. (Compare these figures to the Gartner figures we reported on May 16; the difference may be because Gartner reported "sold to end users" whereas IDV reported "shipped".) IDC noted that almost half of all Android phones came from Samsung, that Symbian will further decline, that upcoming BlackBeryy 10 phones "have shown improvement," and that Windows Phone has yet to make significant inroads. [See IDC press release] -- Posted Thursday, May 24, 2012 by chb

Gartner releases Q1 2012 smartphone numbers
According to a press release by Gartner, 144 million smartphones were sold to end users in Q1 2012, which means that over a third of all cellphones sold are now smartphones. In smartphones, Android commanded a 56.1% marketshare (up from 36.4% a year ago), with Apple's iOS second with 22.9% (up from 16.9%). The big losers were Symbian with 8.6% (down from 27.7%) and RIM with 6.9% (down from 13.0%). Microsoft came in 6th with 1.9%, down from 2.6%. [See Gartner press release] -- Posted Wednesday, May 16, 2012 by chb

HCSS launches mobile apps that improve field entry and productivity
Construction software developer HCSS has introduced a suite of new mobile applications for collecting and reviewing data on construction field operations. These apps can be run anywhere using iPhones, iPads and Android-based phones and tablets. With just a few swipes on a mobile device, contractors can record an entire time card including diaries, photographs and cost-coded employee and equipment hours, as well as production quantities. [See HCSS mobile apps] -- Posted Wednesday, May 16, 2012 by chb

Moprise announces new version of Coaxion
Moprise, a provider of mobile software for accessing and organizing enterprise documents from mobile devices, announced its newest version of Coaxion with a re-designed user interface is available for download from iTunes for iPads and iPhones. Coaxion, allows seamless navigation between enterprise-hosted and personal document storage, and organizes documents related to specific meetings. Mobile users can view and share Office documents in their original form on iPads - including embedded charts, graphics, annotations, and security watermarks - features that consumer document reader applications are unable to support. -- Posted Tuesday, May 8, 2012 by chb

Evernote buys Penultimate
Evernote, the company whose very popular software lets you take and archive notes, has bought the Penultimate digital handwriting app for the iPad. The Evernote blog describes the transaction and how everyone feels about it. Evernote, which has just raised another US$70 million, is clearly thinking big. Now if they could only come up with a stylus that really works on projected capacitive screens, and apps that include palm rejection smarts. -- Posted Monday, May 7, 2012 by chb

IDC on Q1/2012 tablet sales: Apple shines, Android struggles
According to IDC, a steep drop in Android-based tablet shipments offset a strong quarter by Apple. A total of 17.4 million media tablets were sold worldwide in Q1 2012, 1.2 million below IDC's estimates. Of those 17.4 million, Apple shipped 11.8 million, for a 68% marketshare, up from 54.7% in Q4, 2011. Amazon, which had sold 4.8 million tablets in Q4, 2011, fell sharply and is now in 3rd place behind Samsung. Our take: Given Android's stellar performance in smartphones, the platform's struggle in tablets clearly represents a missed opportunity. Android's platform fragmentation seems a much bigger issue in tablets than in smartphones. And soon there will be further fragmentation when Windows 8/RT arrives. [See IDC release] -- Posted Friday, May 4, 2012 by chb

Nokia loses cellphone crown after 14 years, Apple and Samsung tops in smartphones
Cellphone and smartphone sales numbers for Q1 2012 are in, and it looks like for the first time in 14 years, someone other than Nokia is holding the #1 overall cellphone spot. That'd be Samsung with, according to iSuppli, 92 million shipped versus Nokia with 83 million. In the smartphone segment, iSuppli has Apple #1 with 35 million shipped versus Samsung with 32 million. The definition of "smartphone," though, is somewhat fluid, and so another research firm, Strategy Analytics, has Samsung ahead with 44 million versus Apple with 35 million. [See IHS iSuppli release and Strategy Analytics release] -- Posted Monday, April 30, 2012 by chb

In Ticketing launches InHand Mobile Box Office for mobile ticketing at live events
In the early days of PDAs, expanded functionality (such as storage, wireless, scanning, etc.) was often provided in the form of a sleeve or caddy that accommodated the handheld. Now we're starting the same approach again with sleeve and and caddies for smartphones. An example is the iAPS sled from Daily Systems, an all-in-one mobile POS solution for iPhone and iPod touch that adds bar code scanning, credit card reading and receipt printing to those Apple handhelds. Using the iAPS, In Ticketing has now introduced the InHand Mobile Box Office, enabling sale-to-receipt ticket sales transactions. -- Posted Thursday, April 26, 2012 by chb

Almost 80% of all smartphones sold by AT&T Q1 2012 iPhones
In Q11 of 2012, AT&T sold 5.5 million smartphones, and of those 4.3 million were iPhones. Off the cuff, that seems surprising as Android devices have a larger overall marketshare than the iPhone, and a trip to the local AT&T store shows the displays filled with dozens of different Android smartphones. The report also said that Verizon sold 3.2 million iPhones the same quarter, out of a total of 6.3 million smartphones sold. -- Posted Wednesday, April 25, 2012 by chb

Top medical apps
The folks at iMedicalApps.com present a terrific resource with their attractively designed "Top Apps" section where healthcare professionals can find lineups and reviews of medical apps. [See iMedcialApps.com's Top Apps} -- Posted Friday, April 13, 2012 by chb

Allscripts introduces iPad app for EHRs
Allscripts announced the release of Allscripts Wand, which provides users of Allscripts Electronic Health Records a unique, native iPad application that extends the most commonly used functions of Allscripts Professional and Enterprise solutions. -- Posted Thursday, April 5, 2012 by chb

Smartphone OS marketshare by OS platform
FierceMobileContent published a most informative chart that shows the rising and falling US marketshare of the different smartphone OS platforms since September of 2009. The composite graph, which is based on monthly data released by comScore shows how quickly a platform can rise to dominance, or fall from favor. [See FierceMobileContent's US monthly smartphone OS marketshare] -- Posted Thursday, April 5, 2012 by chb

Garmin launches iOS/Android Garmin Pilot aviation app
Garmin announced Garmin Pilot, a new aviation app for iOS and Android-based mobile devices. The app brings Garmin's aviation features to tablets and smart phones, offering pilots complete navigation, trip planning, DUAT(S) filing, weather and electronic flight bag capabilities. It's free for 30 days, then pilots can pay $9.99/month or an annual subscription of $99.99. Geo-referenced FliteCharts are available for an additional $49.99 annually. Geo-referenced SafeTaxi diagrams are available for an additional $29.99 annually.[See Garmin Pilot product page] -- Posted Thursday, March 29, 2012 by chb

Mobile processor market to reach almost 2 billion by 2016
According to a new research report by NPD In-Stat, for 2011 ARM is the dominant processor architecture with over 73% of all units shipped and is growing. Thanks to the iPhone and iPad, Apple is second place for the entire mobile processor market just behind industry leader Intel, and in 2012, Apple will likely capture the top spot in terms of unit shipments. In-Stat also says that the release of Windows 8 later this year will be a pivotal point in the competition between the ARM and x86 processor architectures. -- Posted Wednesday, March 28, 2012 by chb

Apple sells 3 million new iPads in 3 days!
Apple announced it has sold three million new iPads in the first three days of its official release on March 16, 2012. That's roughly ten times as many as Apple sold of the original iPad during its first few days. [See Apple press release] -- Posted Tuesday, March 20, 2012 by chb

The new iPad -- First impressions
On Friday, March 16, 2012, at 9:30AM, Fedex delivered our two new iPads. The Fedex guy actually gave us three packages by mistake. We get a lot of stuff via Fedex, but since all three looked the same, I checked and saw that this was probably a third iPad. I called after the departing Fedex guy. "You saved me life," he told me as I handed him the third package back. [read more] -- Posted Sunday, March 18, 2012 by chb

Socket Mobile launches Apple-certified 1D barcode scanner
Socket Mobile announced that the Socket Bluetooth Cordless Hand Scanner (CHS) 7Ci barcode scanner has been certified by Apple for the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. The pocket-size, lightweight CHS 7Ci uses long-range Bluetooth to connect to the Apple devices, creating a general purpose data collection solution for the mobile workforce. [See 7Ci scanner product page] -- Posted Sunday, March 18, 2012 by chb

When our new iPads shipped
We ordered two new iPads (one black, one white, both 64k and AT&T) on March 7, 2012, the day the new iPad was announced. The black one shipped March 10 and the white one on March 12, both marked for delivery on March 16. -- Posted Wednesday, March 14, 2012 by chb

New Apple iPad: dual/quad-core, retina display, 4G, 1080p video, iSight cameras, voice dictation
Apple announced the new iPad with a 2048 x 1536 pixel "retina" display, a A5X quad-core processor, iSight camera technology similar to the iPhone 4s, 1080p video, voice dictation, Bluetooth 4.0, and 4G LTE. The new iPad looks very much like current models, but weighs a bit more than the iPad 2 (1.4 lbs). Battery life will remain at 10 hours for general use and, amazingly, 9 hours on 4G. Pricing remains at the same level (i.e. US$499 ($629 with 4G) for 16GB models; US$599 ($729 with 4G) for 16GB models; and US$699 ($829 with 4G) for 64GB models). The iPad 2 remans available with lowered prices. Apple also introduced iPhoto for iPad and a new 1080p-capable Apple TV (US$99). -- Posted Thursday, March 8, 2012 by chb

Panasonic shows 5-inch IP57-rated smartphone
After prolonged silence from Panasonic in the smartphone space, the company showed the Panasonic Eluga Power at the World Mobile Congress in Barcelona. There's plenty of power with a 1.5GHz dual-core Snapdragon S4 processor, Android 4.0, as well as the obligatory 8mp camera, 1080p video, secondary front camera, speedy wireless and microSD card slot. What's interesting is the giant, for a phone, 5-inch 1280 x 720 pixel screen, larger than many automotive GPS units, and as large as "tweener" devices between phones and tablets were just a year ago. Time for bigger pockets. The other interesting thing is that the Eluga Power is IP57 rated, which the press release considers dust and waterproof (IP67 would be much better, as IP57 still permits limited dust ingress, which could not possibly make it waterproof). [See Panasonic press release] -- Posted Wednesday, February 29, 2012 by chb

Socket Mobile introduces low-cost barcode scanner for Apple devices
Socket Mobile announced the upcoming availability of the Socket Bluetooth Cordless Hand Scanner (CHS) 7Ci, a low-cost barcode scanner for the Apple iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. The CHS 7Ci expands upon Socket Mobile's CHS Series 7 line of barcode scanners by providing an affordable option for reading 1D barcodes into Apple devices that is also backed by an optional software development kit. The CHS 7Ci is expected to be available in Q2 2012 following certification by Apple at an MSRP of US$260. [See Socket Mobile scanners] -- Posted Tuesday, February 21, 2012 by chb

Apple posts record results
Apple's Q4 2011 financials may well go down in history. Apple's stock is at US$450 (as of January 25, 2012), Apple's market value is US$420 billion, highest in the world. Q4 2011 revenue was at US$46.3 billion, with a record profit of US$13.06 billion. Apple sold 37 million iPhones, up 128% from a year ago. Apple also sold 15.4 million iPads, up 111%, and Mac sales also rose 26% to 5.2 million units. On top, Apple has no debts and almost US$98 billion in cash. -- Posted Wednesday, January 25, 2012 by chb

3M introduces 3M SmartPen
Capacitive touch screens have taken the world by storm, but unless they are combined with some sort of active pen technology, they rely on finger input, and that may not always be enough. You can buy pens, but none that we have tried work very well. Well, 3M Touch Systems has now introduced the 3M Smart Pen that's supposed to provide the accuracy other capacitive pens are lacking. [See 3M Smart Pen] -- Posted Friday, January 13, 2012 by chb

iPad continues to dominate in Q3 of 2011
It's almost two years after the iPad's introduction, and Apple's blockbuster tablet continues to rule. According to IDC, Apple sold 11.1 million iPads in Q3 of 2011 for a 61% market share. That's compared to a combined total of just six million for all Android tablets combined, for a 32.4% share, down from 33.2% in Q3 of 2010. Android, though, seems poised to benefit from the new generation of hybrid tablet/book readers such as the Kindle Fire and Barnes and Noble Nook that may boost Android market share over 40%. -- Posted Tuesday, December 27, 2011 by chb

Tablet survey says connection speed is everything
European network solutions provider Brocade research suggests that while 85% of consumers in their survey use their smartphones or tablets to do their holiday shopping, almost 70% were only prepared to wait a maximum of 20 seconds for a web page to load before going to another retailer. And 13% said they'd only wait a maximum of five seconds for a retailer's web page to load before giving up and trying another site. [See Brocade press release] -- Posted Sunday, December 18, 2011 by chb

DisplaySearch predicts curved cover glass on high-end touch screens
DisplaySearch predicts that curved cover glass on projected capacitive touch screens will become a differentiating feature in high-end models. Curved or shaped cover glass--referred to as 2.5D if along one axis and 3D if along both axes--is a new design trend. Due to its more complicated processes and costs, the ability to handle cover glass finishing will be an increasingly strategic issue for the industry. This and other findings are described in the DisplaySearch 2011 Touch Panel Market Analysis. -- Posted Thursday, October 27, 2011 by chb

A peculiar Apple patent award
On October 25, 2011, Apple was awarded US patent #8,046,721 (see here for "A device with a touch-sensitive display may be unlocked via gestures performed on the touch-sensitive display. The device is unlocked if contact with the display corresponds to a predefined gesture for unlocking the device. The device displays one or more unlock images with respect to which the predefined gesture is to be performed in order to unlock the device." It's peculiar because Neonode used swiping and that unlock feature in its Neonode N1 that came out in 2002. We did a full review of the N1 in early 2006 (see here) and described the unlock feature like this: "To give you an idea of how this works, once you turn the phone on, you'll be greeted by the "locked" symbol. After all, you wouldn't want random touch to generate commands or calls. A set of small triangle arrows show where and in what direction to swipe to unlock the phone." So on the surface it looks like Neonode used the swiping before Apple even applied for the patent in December of 2005. -- Posted Wednesday, October 26, 2011 by chb

Global tablet shipments 18.7 million in Q3 of 2011
According to Digitimes Research, gobal tablet PC shipments reached 18.7 million units in the third quarter, with Apple iPad shipments accounting for 13 million units of that. Non-iPad tablet PCs suffered from high inventory issues in the third quarter and many new tablet PC product launches have been delayed. In terms of components, for tablet PC CPUs, Nvidia has become the second-largest supplier in terms of shipments with Texas Instruments dropping to fourth. As for ODMs, Inventec is currently the second-largest with Quanta Computer dropping to fifth. -- Posted Wednesday, October 19, 2011 by chb

Should I get the new iPhone 4S?
My wife and I write about technology for a living, and so it behooves us to stay up-to-date and always carry around the latest and greatest. Yet, I still have my old iPhone 3GS, and my wife hasn't yet complained about her lowly 3G. Truth be told, what both of us anticipated more than the new iPhone was getting off the AT&T contract. We're both off contract now, so that's good. However, why is it that we're told new phones are subsidized and are essentially paid off during that 2-year contract commitment when the charges stay the same when the contract ends? That's as if you're paying the bank a monthly sum for your mortgage, taxes and maintenance, and then the bank continues to charge you the same when the mortgage is paid off! [Read more...] -- Posted Friday, October 7, 2011 by chb

Goodbye, Steve. Thanks for everything!
Steve Jobs has died at the far-too-young age of 56. There will never be another like him. The impact Steve had not only on technology, but on our lives in general, was monumental. Thanks for everything, Steve. We'll miss you more than you'll ever know. -- Posted Wednesday, October 5, 2011 by chb

Apple announces iPhone 4S
Apple ended months of speculation by introducing the iPhone 4S. It looks virtually identical to the iPhone 4, but has a faster Apple A5 dual core chip, up to 8 hours talk time (6 hours browsing), an 8mp camera with a wide angle F2.4 lens with five elements and digital image stabilization that can also do 1080p video. A new "Siri" voice assistant acts as sort of an intelligent agent, conjuring up memories of Newton Intelligence. The iPhone 4S can handle GSM or CDMA networks and auto-switches between two antennas for better voice quality. Pre-orders begin October 7 for a October 14 release on AT&T, Verizon and, new, Sprint. With the usual 2-year contracts, the iPhone 4S will be available with 16GB (US$199), 32GB (US$299), and 64GB (US$399). [See iPhone 4S tech specs] -- Posted Tuesday, October 4, 2011 by chb

EMEA tablet shipments robust
According to IDC, media tablets did well in the EMEA market during the second quarter of 2011. The Apple iPad maintained and enforced its leading position with a 67% market share, followed by Samsung with 7% and Acer with 6.1%. Q2 tablet shipments were up 82% on the previous quarter and grew to over 4.4 million units. -- Posted Tuesday, September 20, 2011 by chb

United Airlines launches paperless flight deck with 11,000 iPads
United Continental Holding announced that it is converting to paperless flight decks and deploying 11,000 iPads to all United and Continental pilots. The electronic flight bags (EFB) replace paper flight manuals, and as a first for major network carriers, provide pilots with paperless aeronautical navigational charts through an iPad app. Distribution of iPads began earlier this month, and all pilots will have them by year end. -- Posted Wednesday, August 24, 2011 by chb

Apple global smartphone leader Q2, 2011
According to IHS iSuppli, global smartphone shipments for Q2 2011 had Apple leading with 20.3 million and 18.4% marketshare, ahead of Samsung (19.6 million, 17.8%), Nokia (16.7 million, 15.1%), RIM (13.2 million, 12.0%), HTC (12 million, 10.8%), and Motorola (4.4 million, 4.0%). -- Posted Thursday, August 18, 2011 by chb

Apple now most valuable company in the world
On Tuesday, August 9, 2011, Apple became the most valuable company in the world in terms of market capitalization, replacing Exxon. Who'd have thought this would happen just 14 years after the company seemed doomed and headed for extinction. -- Posted Wednesday, August 10, 2011 by chb

Rugged ToughShell for iPhone 4: protection on the job
The folks at Speck Products, who already make the ToughSkin cases for iPhones, introduced the impressive ToughShell for iPhone 4. It's a three-layer silicone & TPE & Polycarbonate affair that provides maximum protection. For US$49.95 it's easy insurance against breaking your iPhone 4 on the job! [See ToughShell for iPhone 4 product page] -- Posted Sunday, August 7, 2011 by chb

Android grabs almost 50% worldwide smartphone share, Apple leading vendor
Canalys published its worldwide country-level Q2 2011 smart phone market estimates, showing substantial market growth in all regions. The market grew 73% year-on-year, with over 107.7 million units shipping in Q2 2011. Of 56 countries Canalys tracks, Android led in 35, with a global market share of 48%. Asia Pacific remained the largest regional market, with 39.8 million units, compared with 35.0 million in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and 32.9 million in the Americas. Android-based smart phone shipments were up 379% over a year ago to 51.9 million. Apple shipped 20.3 million iPhones for a 19% market share, passing Nokia’s Symbian for second place worldwide. Apple also became the world’s leading individual smart phone vendor, stripping Nokia of its long-held leadership position. -- Posted Tuesday, August 2, 2011 by chb

Android tops US smartphones, but Apple #1 manufacturer
According to Nielsen, as of June 2011, Android made up for 39% of all US smartphone subscribers, topping Apple's 28%. Apple, however, is by far the #1 manufacturer with 28%, leading RIM and HTC with 20%, Motorola with 11% and Samsung with 10%. Windows Mobile/Windows Phone 7 only has 9% of the market, and HP and Nokia 2% each. [See Nielsen blog] -- Posted Friday, July 29, 2011 by chb

Apple iOS stats
In a July 7, 2011 press release, Apple announced that there now are more than 200 million iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users worldwide, more than 425,000 apps available, more than 100,000 native iPad apps, Apple has paid more than US$2.5 billion to developers, and more than 15 billion apps have been downloaded. Apple sure has come a long way since cartoonist Garry Trudeau relentlessly ridiculed the Newton. -- Posted Friday, July 8, 2011 by chb

iPad increasingly used by military
In an article entitled "The iPad goes to war," InfoWorld executive editor Galen Gruman discusses how military manufacturer Harris Corporation has been pitching the use of Apple iPads in all sorts of battlefield applications, doing the job done up to now by more expensive dedicated rugged gear. That's because the iPad is inexpensive, troops are familiar with the technology, and Apple designed the tablet to work in many environments (plus, presumably, the elegance and ease of use of the tablet). This is absolutely a trend to be watched by makers of ruggedized equipment. [See iPad goes to war] -- Posted Friday, July 8, 2011 by chb

comScore: Android widens lead, RIM drops to third
comScore has reported key trends in the U.S. mobile phone industry during the three month average period ending May 2011. The 3-month moving average of the 77 million US smartphone subscribers showed Anrdoid in the lead with 38.1% (up 5.1 from three months ago), Apple second with 26.6% (up 1.4), RIM dropping to third with 24.7% (down 4.2), Microsoft 5th with 5.8% (down 1.9), and Palm 2.4% (down 0.4). -- Posted Wednesday, July 6, 2011 by chb

Apple scores very broad patent
Apple was awarded US Patent 7,966,578 on June 21, 2011 for "A computer-implemented method, for use in conjunction with a portable multifunction device with a touch screen display, comprises displaying a portion of page content, including a frame displaying a portion of frame content and also including other content of the page, on the touch screen display. An N-finger translation gesture is detected on or near the touch screen display. In response, the page content, including the displayed portion of the frame content and the other content of the page, is translated to display a new portion of page content on the touch screen display. An M-finger translation gesture is detected on or near the touch screen display, where M is a different number than N. In response, the frame content is translated to display a new portion of frame content on the touch screen display, without translating the other content of the page." That's just the abstract. The full patent reads like a massive, dense legal document. What it says, in essence, is that Apple now owns multi-touch on mobile devices, and then some. -- Posted Wednesday, June 22, 2011 by chb

Verizon drops unlimited, jacks up prices
Verizon will have no one to blame than itself for its less than spectacular showing with the iPhone. The company is terminating its unlimited US$30 data plan, replacing it with just 2GB for the same amount, adding much more expensive plans ($50 for 5GB, $80 for 10GB), with $10 overage fees for every GB, and an extra $20 for 2GB of tethering data. As much as we take issue with AT&T's own data strategy, Verizon's unfortunate greed will work in AT&T's favor. -- Posted Wednesday, June 22, 2011 by chb

Android drops, iOS rises in Q1 2011
IDC data suggests that Android's U.S. smartphone market share dropped from 52.4% in Q4 2010 to 49.5% in Q1 2011, making it the first-ever sequential Android drop in any region. Apple's iOS increased its U.S. share to 29.5%. -- Posted Wednesday, June 22, 2011 by chb

Reynolds launches CRM solution for the iPad
The Reynolds and Reynolds Company announced the launch of dealerPAD, a mobile version of the Reynolds Contact Management solution developed for use on the Apple iPad. dealerPAD will be offered as an additional benefit at no charge to Reynolds Contact Management customers, which is one of the most comprehensive and widely used customer relationship management (CRM) tools for car dealerships. Based on our own experiences with buying cars, do dealerships ever need this! -- Posted Friday, June 3, 2011 by chb

PhatWare releases WritePad 5 for iPhone
Following the launch of the major new version of WritePad for iPad last month, PhatWare has released an update of WritePad for iPhone to bring the same powerful features, including synchronization of WritePad documents with Evernote. WritePad is PhatWare’s popular note taking and handwriting recognition software for iPad and iPhone devices. -- Posted Tuesday, May 17, 2011 by chb

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