It's dead, Jim, that is to say any hopes of seeing the Samsung Galaxy S III unveiled at Mobile World Congress (MWC) later this month. As rumored, Samsung is delaying the introduction of its next flagship Galaxy S smartphone version and will have a separate event --- still in 1H2012 --- to launch the device.
"Samsung is looking forward to introducing and demonstrating exciting new mobile products at Mobile World Congress 2012. The successor to the Galaxy S2 smartphone will be unveiled at a separate Samsung-hosted event in the first half of the year, closer to commercial availability of the product. Samsung stays committed to providing the best possible mobile experiences for customers around the world."
There are rumors that Apple will be able to move the launch of the iPhone 5 back to what had been prior to the iPhone 4S launch: summer. If it does so, the Galaxy S III and the iPhone 5 might go head to head during that period.
What of Samsung at MWC? They will probably show off their recently introduced Samsung Galaxy S Advance.
It's also rumored that Samsung will show off an 11.6-inch Android tablet, one that will sport a WXQGA (2,560 × 1,600) screen and a Exynos processor. Earlier rumors said it will be the Exynos 5250, which would be dual-core ... but now there are rumors that it could be a quad-core processor instead.
Another possibility is Tizen, which it's been rumored that Samsung is interested in merging with Bada, the company's proprietary OS. Tizen is a Linux-based OS that is the successor to Intel and Nokia's Meego platform. Bada has been doing pretty decently on its own, though, so that's still unclear.
If Tizen were merged into Bada, it could also open up the possibility that Samsung might unveil an Intel-based tablet at MWC. Intel's Mark Miller told PC Magazine at last month's CES that it was hoping to showcase some Tizen-powered tablets soon.
Samsung and Apple continue to slug it out for the crown of top smartphone maker globally, and 2011 ended with Apple taking the latest battle --- for the quarter --- but with Samsung taking the crown for the entire 2011 calendar year.
It's true, though, that on the strength of the launch of its iPhone 4S meant, Apple overtook Korean-based Samsung in Q4, according to market research firm IHS iSuppli. It wasn't by a huge amount, with iSuppli noting that Apple shipped 37M smartphones in Q4, while Samsung shipped 36 million.
What was huge was the spike in sales from Q3 2011 to Q4 2011, for Apple. Apple's shipments rose 117 percent on the strength of its new device, while Samsung only saw shipments rise 28 percent during the peak holiday shopping season.
That explosive growth in iPhone sales is what has led Apple to within an eyelash of Android in recent sales, according to Nielsen.
That said, Samsung saw its own huge rise in sales, with a 278 percent increase in smartphone sales year-over-year, while Apple was no slouch with a 96 percent rise from 2010 to 2011. Samsung rose from 25 million shipped in 2010 to 95 million in 2011, while Apple rose from 47 million in 2010 to 93 million in 2011.
Wayne Lam, a senior analyst of wireless communications at IHS, said in a statement, "Samsung advanced in 2011 because of its strategy of offering a complete line of smartphone products, spanning a variety of price points, features and operating systems. This enabled Samsung to move past perennial market leader Nokia and to slightly exceed Apple's total for the year."
Although though of as an Android OEM, Samsung has its own smartphone platform, Bada, and it also ships devices sporting Microsoft's Windows Phone platform. Rival market research firm Strategy Analytics had the same ranking of the two companies for Q4 2011, but listed Samsung's smartphone shipments at slightly more, 36.5 million units.
For now, it appears to be a two-horse race among smartphone makers, although it is true --- Android's strength has been its variety of handsets, and HTC and Motorola still produce a number of compelling designs, along with smaller firms LG, ZTE, and even more.
Samsung has decided to delay the unveiling of its next superphone, the Samsung Galaxy S III. Originally believed to be heading toward an announcement at Mobile World Congress at the end of February, sources are now saying that it's likely that is no longer going to happen.
It seemed almost a done deal that Samsung would introduce the GSIII at the 2012 MWC; after all the GSII was introduced at the 2011 MWC. However, there is some speculation that Samsung didn't want a recurrence of the long delay between a device's global launch and a U.S. launch, which is what happened with the Galaxy S II.
Assuming that rumor pans out, what will Samsung announced at the 2012 MWC? One would assume the 2011 world's largest smartphone manufacturer would have something up its sleeve. Rumor has it that the company will unveil a new Galaxy Tab Android tablet, one with a 2GHz Exynos 5250 processor, with a 10-inch-plus display and a WXQGA (2,560 × 1,600) resolution, running Ice Cream Sandwich (Android 4.0.x).
The press has been assuming that Apple's next iPad, the iPad 3, would sport a 9.7-inch 2,048 x 1,536 resolution screen and be a "retina display," so if the resolution rumor is true, Samsung has a "retina display" tablet of its own --- unless the display is significantly larger than 10 inches.
There are some rumors, however, that Samsung will announce a Galaxy Tab 11.6 at MWC, which would mean a screen size of 11.6-inches.
That's all well and good, but as we've pointed out before, tablet buyers are less impressed with specifications and hardware than they are the experience and use of the device.
It's possible, as well, that Samsung will announce a new set of Windows Phone devices, as yet another rumor has Microsoft making some sort of announcement at MWC.
All will be clear in about a month, as MWC begins on Feb. 27, 2012.
RIM has taken an axe to the prices it charges for its BlackBerry PlayBook tablets in the UK - again.
You can now pick up the 16GB version of just £169. It was priced at £399 at launch, and yesterday would have set you back £249. That's roughly a third off in 24 hours.
The 32GB now costs £199, the 64GB tablet £249, down from £479 and £559, respectively.
A variety of retailers, including Carphone Warehouse and Dixons, have just applied the new prices.
RIM knocked £150 off the original prices in October 2011 in a bid to boost demand for the 7in tablets. Punters have not taken to the machine.
It didn't do much good, and just as October's cut followed a big price reduction in the States, so this latest round of reductions comes after RIM discounted again over there.
Apple got off schedule in terms of an annual summer refresh cycle with the iPhone 4S, which launched instead in October, but the Cupertino-based company could be back on track this year, if the latest rumors pan out.
The information comes from "a reliable source" to 9to5Mac. Credence in the matter is given by the fact that the Apple-focused blog states that the source is the same one who told them late last summer that there would be no 2011 iPhone 5, but instead an iPhone 4S.
According to the source, several sample devices are already "on display," all varying slightly from one another such that the final design is not discernible. What seems clear is that the teardrop design rumored leading up to the iPhone 4S introduction is nowhere to be seen.
If the rumors are true, Apple will be moving to at least a 4-inch display, possibly made by LG. the 4-inch screen rumor has been around since last year.
The return to a summer refresh comes by extrapolation. In 2011, iPhone 4S production did not ramp up until late spring. Using an estimated five month lead time, Apple could return to a June / July launch for the iPhone 5.
We'd bet there will be some customers who feel cheated if that is so, though, if they had rushed into the iPhone 4S with an A5 processor, 8MP camera, and Siri, and little else different between it and the iPhone 4.
A lot of good things to say about the Verizon-exclusive handset, but I also had a complaint when it came to battery life.
"Daily charging would be a part of life with the Razr and anyone considering buying this phone should have a charger at home, work and in the car," I wrote.
And evidently, I wasn't the only one who thought the Razr could do better when it came to holding a charge -- lots of other tech critics complained too. Motorola seems to have agreed also, which is why the company is releasing the Droid Razr Maxx through Verizon on Thursday.
Thirty-six percent of recent iPhone customers moved from another smartphone platform, such as Android, Palm, or Blackberry, according to a report released by Consumer Intelligence Research Partners (CIRP) on Monday.
In addition, more than one-fifth, or 21 percent of iPhone 4S buyers felt they needed more storage, and went for the new higher storage tier, of 64GB. Those figures are pretty much in agreement to a poll conducted by investment firm Piper Jaffray on the first day of iPhone 4S availability, which said that 19 percent chose the 64GB model on that day.
An earlier CIRP report said that 18 percent of iPhone buyers at the iPhone 4S launch were switching from other platforms, but the company said that the number doubled as the year ended, with 36 percent of new users coming from competing platforms.
CIRP said the data came from a survey of 365 "qualified" customers that purchased an iPhone in October, November and December of 2011 (the initial group had a total of 6,316 respondents).
Bad news for T-Mobile in the survey: while --- respectively --- Verizon, AT&T and Sprint maintained their market shares among iPhone owners, the three largest wireless carriers in the U.S. took customers from other iPhone-less carriers, which includes the fourth largest carrier, T-Mobile.
AT&T recently abandoned its bid to buy T-Mobile USA from parent company Deutsche Telekom.
Windows Phone Lumia lineup, the smartphone maker may have already shipped as many as 1.3 million units last year, says Bloomberg.
Tapping into the usual range of analysts, Bloomberg found that the forecast varied from 800,000 to 2 million Lumia phones, with only one person estimating less than 1 million, resuling in an average of 1.3 million.
But those numbers refer to the number of units shipped to mobile carriers and retailers rather than actual sales to consumers. Sales to smartphone buyers were probably less than shipments, according to Bloomberg, since some Lumia handsets have remained on the shelves.
Stuck with its traditional Symbian phones, Nokia has been shedding smartphone market share and sales over the past year. Symbian sales fell 36 percent in the two quarters prior to the Lumia launch, Bloomberg said. And the company's fourth quarter results, due to be reported this Thursday, could show a 20 percent drop in sales and a loss of $119 million.
As such, Nokia is pinning its hopes on a revival courtesy of Microsoft's Windows Phone.
Reaching the European market last November, the Lumia 800 is destined for the U.S. as an unlocked version sometime in the coming months. Early data suggested that sales of the 800 were off to a strong start, according to Bloomberg and other sources. However, a more recent but more narrow report published by PaidContent.org found that sales, at least in the U.K., were sluggish in November.
The lower-end Lumia 710 recently went on sale in the U.S. with carrier T-Mobile selling it for $49.99. The phone is already being offered for free with the standard two-year contract by Wal-Mart, and other retailers will likely follow suit.
But Nokia's big gun will be the Lumia 900. Scheduled to be carried in the U.S. by AT&T sometime this quarter, the 900 will be Nokia's first LTE Windows Phone. Equipped with an array of hefty features, including a 4.3-inch AMOLED ClearBlack glass touch screen and high-quality Carl Zeiss lenses, the phone won several awards at CES earlier this month.
Windows Phone Lumia lineup, the smartphone maker may have already shipped as many as 1.3 million units last year, says Bloomberg.
Tapping into the usual range of analysts, Bloomberg found that the forecast varied from 800,000 to 2 million Lumia phones, with only one person estimating less than 1 million, resuling in an average of 1.3 million.
But those numbers refer to the number of units shipped to mobile carriers and retailers rather than actual sales to consumers. Sales to smartphone buyers were probably less than shipments, according to Bloomberg, since some Lumia handsets have remained on the shelves.
Stuck with its traditional Symbian phones, Nokia has been shedding smartphone market share and sales over the past year. Symbian sales fell 36 percent in the two quarters prior to the Lumia launch, Bloomberg said. And the company's fourth quarter results, due to be reported this Thursday, could show a 20 percent drop in sales and a loss of $119 million.
As such, Nokia is pinning its hopes on a revival courtesy of Microsoft's Windows Phone.
Reaching the European market last November, the Lumia 800 is destined for the U.S. as an unlocked version sometime in the coming months. Early data suggested that sales of the 800 were off to a strong start, according to Bloomberg and other sources. However, a more recent but more narrow report published by PaidContent.org found that sales, at least in the U.K., were sluggish in November.
The lower-end Lumia 710 recently went on sale in the U.S. with carrier T-Mobile selling it for $49.99. The phone is already being offered for free with the standard two-year contract by Wal-Mart, and other retailers will likely follow suit.
But Nokia's big gun will be the Lumia 900. Scheduled to be carried in the U.S. by AT&T sometime this quarter, the 900 will be Nokia's first LTE Windows Phone. Equipped with an array of hefty features, including a 4.3-inch AMOLED ClearBlack glass touch screen and high-quality Carl Zeiss lenses, the phone won several awards at CES earlier this month.
Windows Phone Lumia lineup, the smartphone maker may have already shipped as many as 1.3 million units last year, says Bloomberg.
Tapping into the usual range of analysts, Bloomberg found that the forecast varied from 800,000 to 2 million Lumia phones, with only one person estimating less than 1 million, resuling in an average of 1.3 million.
But those numbers refer to the number of units shipped to mobile carriers and retailers rather than actual sales to consumers. Sales to smartphone buyers were probably less than shipments, according to Bloomberg, since some Lumia handsets have remained on the shelves.
Stuck with its traditional Symbian phones, Nokia has been shedding smartphone market share and sales over the past year. Symbian sales fell 36 percent in the two quarters prior to the Lumia launch, Bloomberg said. And the company's fourth quarter results, due to be reported this Thursday, could show a 20 percent drop in sales and a loss of $119 million.
As such, Nokia is pinning its hopes on a revival courtesy of Microsoft's Windows Phone.
Reaching the European market last November, the Lumia 800 is destined for the U.S. as an unlocked version sometime in the coming months. Early data suggested that sales of the 800 were off to a strong start, according to Bloomberg and other sources. However, a more recent but more narrow report published by PaidContent.org found that sales, at least in the U.K., were sluggish in November.
The lower-end Lumia 710 recently went on sale in the U.S. with carrier T-Mobile selling it for $49.99. The phone is already being offered for free with the standard two-year contract by Wal-Mart, and other retailers will likely follow suit.
But Nokia's big gun will be the Lumia 900. Scheduled to be carried in the U.S. by AT&T sometime this quarter, the 900 will be Nokia's first LTE Windows Phone. Equipped with an array of hefty features, including a 4.3-inch AMOLED ClearBlack glass touch screen and high-quality Carl Zeiss lenses, the phone won several awards at CES earlier this month.
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