While highly unlikely, Isaac Royo’s iPhone 5 concept is interesting and while many might love the 360 speaker grill – I think Mr. Ive might not be down with it and Steve would have said: ” Isaac, you blew it!”
If you’ve been waiting to buy a tablet or smartphone, now might be a great time to get in on the fun….at a great price. Apple and third party retailers are having some great deals on iPads and iPhones – if you don’t care about the rumored iPhone 6 or iPad mini, this could be the deal of the year.
The ASUS PadFone is an incredible 4.3″ smartphone featuring a Super AMOLED qHD display, the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 1.5Ghz dual core processor and an ultra-sharp 8 megapixel digital camera, all wrapped in an exquisite design optimized for AndroidTM 4.0. When placed inside the optional PadFone Station, it transforms into a 10.1″ tablet with five times the battery life.
The boys over at TheVerge have got their hands on the beta release of Google Chrome Mobile for Android devices – while it’s still in beta, it’s available in the Android Market. Before people get too carried away, you will need a handset running Ice Cream Sandwitch 4.0, so the large majority of Android phones will not be in on the beta release. Mobile Chrome is a lot like the stock Android browser but with many esthetic upgrades:
While the stock Android browser babysat us for some time, Chrome Beta is bringing some real desktop browser features to the table: Browse fast with accelerated page loading, scrolling, and zooming, Search and navigate directly from the omnibox, Open and switch between unlimited tabs in an easy-to-view stack, Sign in to Chrome to sync your bookmarks and view tabs you have open on your computer, Send pages from desktop Chrome to your smartphone or tablet with one click and read them on the go, even if you’re offline, Browse privately in Incognito mode.
While the beta version of Chrome leaves a lot to be desired and by no means is it re-shuffling the mobile browsing space, Chris Ziegler from TheVerge has a great summary of the app:
…Beyond speed and sync, tab management is a focal point in Chrome, which adapts an almost webOS-like interface (in fact, the app’s official announcement post describes managing tabs “as if you’re holding a deck of cards in the palm of your hands”). The Open Tabs button in Chrome’s action bar now permanently indicates the number of tabs you actually have open, fixing a pain point with the old browser….
If you have an Android handset running ICS 4.0, why not go over to Android Market and give Chrome a spin - simply click here for the link. Now, if Google would work on the desktop version of Chrome a little – that browser is buggy as hell!
Source: TheVerge
Wolfram Alpha, everyone’s favorite statistical search engine has seen its query traffic jump 25%, mostly due to Apple’s Siri personal assistant. Siri is one of the key features of the iPhone 4S and while initial impressions of the handset were bland, the 4S has easily become Apple’s best selling smartphone. Siri’s voice recognition has allowed Apple to partner with services like Wolfram and Yelp – giving the 4S a more native core experience.
Source: Apple Insider
Apple Inc. has won top brand status of 2011 by marketing strategy firm Davis Brand Capital. The once only computer company has really spread its wings (Reach) over the last five years – also becoming top smartphone vender (unit sales) for 2011. Besides building its massive cash reserves ($95+ billion), Apple has also added to its brand quality and loyalty:
Davis said that “Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL)’s rise in this year’s rankings was driven largely by its competitive performance and added brand value. The annual 2011 Davis Brand Capital 25 ranking evaluates companies’ abilities to manage and balance the five key intangible categories that comprise brand capital: brand value; competitive performance; innovation strength; company culture; and social impact.”
Still, the major problem with being on top is that everyone’s gunning for you – case in point, the huge amounts of patent/copyright lawsuits in which Apple is involved with(globally) – the massive advertising campaign Samsung is tossing at Apple and its cultish following and the ever increasing stock value (investor expectation). To stay on top, Apple needs to do what it’s always done – innovate and keep forcing everyone to play “catch-up”.
Source: Emoneydaily.com
Research In Motion (RIM), everyone’s favorite Blackberry maker has some serious takeover talk circling around itself. RIM famously laughed when Apple first released the iPhone back in 2007 but since then, RIM has struggled to be even a mediocre player in the smartphone industry – seeing its once dominent phone business go down the drain. Yet, it looks like Samsung might come to its rescue, that is if the rumors are true.
Shares of Research In Motion Ltd. RIMM +9.03% jumped nearly 7% to $17.25 early Tuesday afternoon after a technology blog reported that the company is considering a sale to Korean electronics giant Samsung. A report on the Boy Genius Report, citing unnamed sources, called a sale to Samsung a “front-runner” among several options currently being evaluated by RIM’s management…
Why would Sammy want a dead in the water phone maker? RIM doesn’t own some large patent portfolio – it doesn’t have amazing designers or stunning smartphones in the pipeline and it seriously doesn’t have a state of the art OS running on its handsets. Chances are, Samsung would just fold them into its already dominent phone division – taking with it market share. Developing story….
Source: MarketWatch
The Sony Xperia S is a much anticipated return to classic Sony Design and with the lack of “Ericsson” on the branding, it looks like Sony has turned over a new leaf. While the European Xperia S is the step brother to the American Xperia Ion, their similarities stop there and it looks like the Xperia S sports some breathtaking design – including the transparent stripe at the botton, revealing the radio antenna.
But let’s put beauty aside and talk about specs and how the Xperia S stacks up against other Android handsets – specifically if it is running ICS – Specs: 720p Zero-Air-Gap Display, 4.3-inch Chassis, 1.5GHz Dual-Core CPU, 12-Megapixel Rear Camera, Android 2.3 Gingerbread-Update To Ice Cream Sandwich, PlayStation certification – Full Specs Here. All in all, this phone is a strong showing for a Post-Ericsson Sony and a welcomed return to a company that has brought us so many great consumer electronic devices. Check out the hipster video below for more fun:
Source: Sony
After years and years of talk and few prototypes, Intel has finally come through on their promise of a smartphone chipset……well, Lenovo did it for them. Yesterday at CES 2012 in Las Vegas, Intel and Lenovo released the K800 (very imaginative name) built on Intel’s Midfield architecture. So what does this get you, besides a ridiculously skinned version of Android 4.0?:
- 1.6GHz Intel processor
- 4.5-inch 720p HD TFT
- 8-megapixel camera
- WCDMA HSPA+ 21Mbps
- 802.11n Wi-Fi
- Bluetooth 3.0
- GPS
- WiDi
While the K800 has a very obelisk look to it and it’s surprisingly thick shape isn’t exactly the best looking on the market – this is Intel’s inroad into the mobile phone processor market: Lenovo’s senior vice president and president of Mobile Internet said:
…the K800 smartphone will be available in China in the second quarter and will run on China Unicom’s 21Mbs network. The smartphone features the low-power Intel® Atom™ processor Z2460 with Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology, support for HSPA+ with the Intel® XMM™ 6260 Platform, and the Lenovo LeOS user interface for a localized experience in China…
So no European nor American showing for this year but we don’t know what else Intel has in store…..besides parading Will.I.AM all over the world on his crazy 12 city Ultra Book Tour. Shame on you Intel and someone save Will.I.AM before I see a fu#$ing “Will.I.AM Inside” processor sticker on some low budget laptop.
Source: Intel
If you want to protect your smartphone or laptop, why not do it in an artistic and stylish way. GelaSkins works with hundreds of artists from all over the world, creating amazing cover for all types of gadgetry. Take advantage of these before hipsters get their hands on them and ruin everything for the rest of us.
Source: GelaSkin
People like smartphones! Young adults love em’! This week, Nielsens released some interesting numbers…..if by interesting I mean “not surprising!” Before showing you the numbers, I think it’s fair to state that if given the choice, people would want a new/powerful/web connected phone rather than a neon blue flip phone with Snake. Ok, let’s have a look:
“…while only 43 percent of all US mobile phone subscribers own a smartphone, a mobile phone with a powerful operating system, the vast majority of those under the age of 44 now have smartphones. In fact, 62 percent of mobile adults aged 25-34 report owning smartphones…”
The greatest age of adoption is from the original “Internet Age” generation” or as the article has called them – “Generation App.” People in their 30′s grew up as computers became main stream and people in the 20′s experienced the Internet’s complet take over of our society. It’s only logical that Nielsen’s numbers would then in-turn, point to a mass adoption of high tech gadgets (Smartphones) by these very people.
Also, not so shocking is the stranglehold that Android holds on the operation system marketshare (43% in the US) and Apple’s dominance in terms of manufacturer (28% US). Google and Apple are involved in essentially a two horse race for complete saturation of the American smartphone market, with Rimm, Samsung and others left for the scraps.
Source: Nielsen
We were all waiting to see what NokiSoft would do and it looks like their first collaboration into the smartphone space are two beautiful, somewhat low priced – unique looking handsets. The Lumia 710 and its more sophisticated older brother, the Lumia 800 seem like rushed pieces of hardware from Nokia but I believe the goal was to release a viable smartphone in 2011 (for presence) and really enter the markt in the first half of 2012. Specs: 3.7″ 480×800 TFT display – 1.4Ghz Single Core Snapdragon+512MB RAM – 5 MegaPixels Camera – 16Gb Storage – Weight 126g – Price: €270 Full Specs
Those looking for a better camera and the all familiar N9 design, should consider the Lumia 800 and while looking the same externally, they are somewhat different on the inside. Still, I don’t blame Nokia for keeping with the N9′s unique design – it was one of the best things to come out of Nokia in the last years, except for the OS it was running. So, what are the main differences between the Lumia and the N9? The Lumia 800 has a single core 1.4 Ghz Snapdragon processor instead of a single core 1Ghz – 512MB of Ram instead of 1GB – 16GB Storage instead of 64GB. Additionally, the Lumia 800 comes with a 3.7″ TFT Display – 8 MegaPixel Camera – weight 142g – Price: €420 – Full Specs Interestingly, no front facing camera on either the Lumia 710 nor the 800 but still a good showing.
Nielsen’s has released a new survey on, as the above title states, “Smart phone Share By Race.” This is just the Q4 of 2010 and the overall results aren’t super shocking. Overall, the stats point to a somewhat even avg. share across Whites, Hispanics and African Americans – in respect to each OS. Asian and Pacific Islanders had a much higher adoption of Apple’s iOS then the previously mentioned race/ethnic groups. Bottom line: People of all races love smart phones and they almost all feel the same way about specific mobile operating systems. Click Here to see all the results. NEXT!!
Source: Nielsens.com