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

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

IDC: Smartphone market grows 80% Q1 2011 vs Q1 2010
IDC reports that the worldwide smartphone market Q1 2011 grew 80% compared to Q1 2010, to about 100 million units. Nokia held on to the largest market share with 24.3%, Apple (18.7%) passed RIM (14.0%) for second place, Samsung was fourth with 10.8% and vaulted to 5th with 8.9%. -- Posted Thursday, May 5, 2011 by chb

White iPhone 4
Apple announced that the long-awaited white iPhone 4 is now available. We're not quite sure why that is such a big deal, but apparently it is. -- Posted Sunday, May 1, 2011 by chb

Should I upgrade my iPhone and iPad?
I really can't live without my iPhone and iPad. And as a professional publisher, writer and editor, I pride myself in always having, and knowing about, the latest gear. So it's pretty strange that I still have a lowly iPhone 3Gs and a first generation iPad. I mean, the iPhone 4 has been out forever, and there's already plenty of buzz about the iPhone 5. And the second gen iPad has also been out of a while. So what's going here? [read more] -- Posted Friday, April 29, 2011 by chb

Nokia outsources Symbian, cuts more staff
As Finnish phone maker Nokia begins its transition to Windows Phone 7, the company is transferring 3,000 Symbian employees to consulting firm Accenture which will take over support of the Symbian platform. Nokia will cut another 4,000 staff by the end of 2012, with most of the reductions affecting staff in Finland, Denmark and the UK. -- Posted Wednesday, April 27, 2011 by chb

Is the race for media tablet supremacy already over? Many developers think so
Who could forget Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer stomping around the stage and yelling "developers, developers, developers!" at conferences in the mid-2000s (see Balmer developers spoof video on YouTube)? Well, according to the Appcelerator/IDC Mobile Developer Report, April 2011, the developers have spoken and the news isn't at all good for Microsoft, and not even that good for Android. [read more] -- Posted Tuesday, April 26, 2011 by chb

Verizon sells 2.2 million iPhones first two weeks
Verizon announced it has sold 2.2 million iPhones in its first two weeks of availability. Of those about 3/4 were upgrades from existing customers and about 1/4 were new Verizon customers. Verizon also said that about 60% of the phones it sold during the last quarter were smartphones. -- Posted Thursday, April 21, 2011 by chb

Gartner forecast on smartphone OS market share
Since phones have become little computers and are in many ways replacing more conventional computers, what happens on phones is important to the computer industry, and especially mobile computing. While the definition of "smartphone" compared to a regular cellphone remains fluid, research and analyst firm Gartner says worldwide smartphone sales will be 468 million in 2011, up 58% from 2010. By 2015, Gartner sees 1.1 billion. Of major OS platforms, Gartner predicts leader Symbian vanishing (2010: 37.6%, 2015: 0.1%). Android's share rises from 38.5% this year to half of all smartphones, but then stays there. That's primarily because Microsoft will make a comeback, from about 5% now to almost 20% in 2015, largely due to Nokia switching to WIndows Phone 7. Apple's iOS has almost 20% in 2011, and will remain more or less steady through 2015 (17.2%). RIM, despite a migration to QNX, will decline from 16% in 2010 to just 11% in 2015. Our take: If these numbers are on the mark, then vertical market handhelds, which are now all Microsoft-based, may still have a migration path rather than a forced switch to Android. [See Gartner release on smartphone OS market] -- Posted Friday, April 8, 2011 by chb

iPad 2 causing competition to postpone launches
According to DigiTimes, Apple's announcement of the iPad 2 is causing several notebook brand vendors to postpone their own tablet models as the iPad 2's low US$499 price is hard to meet or beat, and higher cost models could not compete. Digitimes' sources pointed out that tablet PCs will need to be priced below US$399 to have chance to enter the tablet PC battlefield, and none of the current Wintel or ARM/Android platform are capable of achieving such a price level. -- Posted Tuesday, March 8, 2011 by chb

Apple's iPad 2 -- Upping the ante
Here's a more detailed explanation of theApple iPad 2 and our assessment of it: iPad 2 -- Upping the ante -- Posted Thursday, March 3, 2011 by chb

iPad 2 available March 11, 2011
Steve Jobs announced the iPad 2 on March 2. The new model looks almost exactly the same, but is considerably thinner (0.35 vs 0.5 inches) and weighs less (1.3 lbs. vs 1.5 lbs.). It will be powered by a 1GHz dual core Apple A5 processor that, according to Jobs, is twice as fast and offers 9x graphics performance. There are now two cameras (VGA in the front, 720p in the rear), a gyroscope for additional functionality, the 25 watt-hour (unchanged) battery will last the same ten hours, there's HDMI-out via a cable, and the iPad 2 comes in black or white, and in AT&T and Verizon versions. No word on cost of data plans, no obvious changes in the display, and no dual speakers. Pricing remains exactly the same as for the original iPad: US$499 (16GB), US$599 (32GB), US$699 (64GB) for the WiFi-ony versions, and US$130 more for 3G versions. Apple also announced iMovie, and GarageBand for iPad (US$4.95 each). [See iPad 2 specs and see how the iPad 2 compares to the competition.

-- Posted Wednesday, March 2, 2011 by chb

Nokia and Microsoft announce partnership
Nokia and Microsoft announced plans to form what they call "a broad strategic partnership that would use their complementary strengths and expertise to create a new global mobile ecosystem." Under the proposed partnership, Nokia would adopt Windows Phone as its principal smartphone strategy, help drive the future of Windows Phone, do joint marketing with Microsoft, use Bing (but Nokia Maps), integrate Nokia's app store with Microsoft Marketplace, and use Microsoft development tools. Our take: A big announcement and a big risk for Nokia, which for now still is the world's largest cellphone vendor, but has no traction in smartphones. So the question becomes whether a struggling OS and a struggling hardware maker add up to a winning formula. [See Nokia press release] -- Posted Friday, February 11, 2011 by chb

Verizon iPhone now on sale
AT&T's iPhone monopoly is officially over. As of February 10, 2011, the iPhone is available for the Verizon network. The phone looks the same, though there are some small details outside that are different. Inside, the radio is all different as Verizon uses CDMA technology instead of AT&T's GSM. Pricing isn't very different, and Verizon also requires a costly 2-year contract. -- Posted Thursday, February 10, 2011 by chb

iPhone on Verizon!
AT&T's US iPhone monopoly is over. On January 11, 2011, Verizon announced it will carry the iPhone starting February 10, 2011. No 4G, though, and being on the CDMA network will no doubt have its issues as well (most notably far less coverage outside the US). Jon Stewart hilariously lampooned the situation on his show (see Daily Show on Verizon iPhone on YouTube] -- Posted Wednesday, January 12, 2011 by chb

Nielsen: iOS now #1 in US
According to a report released by Nielsen, the Apple iOS has passed BlackBerry to be the #1 ranked smartphone OS in the US in November 2010. Apple;s iOS had 28.6% market share, BlackBerry 26.1%, and the hard charging Android 25.8%. Back in June of 2010, BlackBerry was still on top with 33.9%, Apple had 27.9%, and Android 15%. These numbers suggest that Android's growth primarily comes at BlackBerry's expense. [See report] -- Posted Tuesday, January 4, 2011 by chb

eMarketer predicts massive growth in tablet market
According to eMarketer, the worldwide market for tablets will more than quadruple in the next two years. According to their data, 13.3 million iPads will be sold in 2010 (of a total of 15.7 million total tablets). For 2011, eMarketer predicts 43.6 million tablets (34 million of them iPads), and for 2012 81.3 million (56.1 million iPads). Those are massive numbers indeed, and it'll be interesting to see if it all comes to pass. [See eMarketer article] -- Posted Friday, December 17, 2010 by chb

iPad on the Road -- Part V
Another road trip for the iPad. Carol and I flew to Tennessee for an extended Thanksgiving weekend, which meant I had to take along my electronic gear. We both packed our iPads, cameras, iPhones, and I also took along my big MacBook Pro. ... [read more...] -- Posted Wednesday, December 15, 2010 by chb

New study on mobile data usage: Android uses more than iPhone
Network management solutions provider Arieso conducted a series of studies, comparing subscriber demand for mobile data, that shows that different users and different devices exhibit markedly different demands on mobile networks. For example, iPhone 4 users are more hungry for data than their iPhone3G counterparts, typically making 44% more data calls, downloading 41% more data to their devices, and spending 67% more time connected to the network for data. However, Arieso's analysis also showed that Android devices have higher data call volumes, time connected to the network, and data volume uploaded and downloaded than both the iPhone3G and iPhone 4. [See Arieso summary]. -- Posted Thursday, December 9, 2010 by chb

Wyse to showcase PocketCloud
Wyse Technology announced today it will showcase Wyse PocketCloud for Android and Apple iPhone, iPad and iPod touch at VMware vForum 2010 Tokyo. PocketCloud allows IT administrators and end users to securely access their PC and virtual desktops remotely through their iOS or Android device. -- Posted Friday, November 5, 2010 by chb

Android grabs larger share of US smartphone market
The NPD Group reports that thanks to continued high-profile handset introductions, the Android smartphone OS significantly grew its lead in the U.S. consumer smartphone market in Q3 2010. The Android OS was installed in 44% of all smartphones purchased in Q3, an increase of 11% since Q2; Apple iOS held relatively steady versus last quarter, rising one percentage point to 23%; RIM OS, fell to third, declining from 28% to 22%. Apple's iPhone4 remains the best-selling smartphone, followed by the BlackBerry Curve 8500 and the LG Cosmos. [Read NPD Group release] -- Posted Monday, November 1, 2010 by chb

AmpliTube 2 for iPhone

This impressive looking setup shows the screens and functionality available through the AmpliTube 2 for iPhone app by IK Multimedia. It's a major update to perhaps the leading guitar and music creation app on the iOS platform. Combined with the iRig interface adapter, AmpliTube 2 for iPhone allows users to play, practice and record anytime and anywhere with world-class sound for guitar and bass -- but also for any other type of instrument. [See features] -- Posted Thursday, October 28, 2010 by chb

Verizon starts selling iPad
Beginning October 28, 2010, Verizon Wireless will offer the Apple iPad at any of the more than 2,000 Verizon Wireless Communications Stores nationwide. Verizon Wireless will offer three bundles, all featuring an iPad Wi-Fi model and a Verizon MiFi 2200 Intelligent Mobile Hotspot, for a suggested retail price of $629 for iPad Wi-Fi 16 GB + MiFi, $729 for iPad Wi-Fi 32 GB + MiFi, and $829 for iPad Wi-Fi 64 GB + MiFi. Verizon Wireless is offering a monthly access plan to customers who purchase an iPad with a MiFi beginning at 1 GB of data for $20 monthly access. In addition, Verizon Wireless will also offer all three iPad Wi-Fi models on a stand-alone basis. -- Posted Wednesday, October 27, 2010 by chb

Kodak releases iPad app
KODAK Gallery announced the release of a new application for the Apple iPad. The Gallery HD iPad App for KODAK Gallery is an easy-to-use application designed to help users upload, browse and share photos stored on the KODAK Gallery Photo Service directly on the iPad. -- Posted Wednesday, October 27, 2010 by chb

275,000 iOS activations per day now
During Apple's 10/18/2010 quarterly earnings call, Steve Jobs said Apple has been activating 275,000 iOS devices per day as of late, and there are now over 300,000 apps in the App Store. Apple also announced it sold 14.1 million iPhones in the quarter, way more than the old record of 8.87 million. -- Posted Tuesday, October 19, 2010 by chb

iPad component supply improves
According to iSuppli, iPad component availability is improving so that iSuppli's iPad shipping forecast for 2010 is now 13.8 million units, up from their 12.9 million estimate in July of 2010. Apple announced it sold 4.2 million iPads during the quarter ending September 25, 2010. iSuppli estimates that Apple will sell almost 44 million iPads in 2011 and 63 million in 2012. [See iSuppli press release] -- Posted Tuesday, October 19, 2010 by chb

Huge demand for tablets expected
According to cens.com, Topology Research Institute (TRI) projects iPads to account for 70% of global tablet PC shipment of 37 million units in 2011 and help fuel demand for tablet PCs overall. Demand for such devices is expected to hit 130 million units by 2015, or 34%, of total notebook PC shipments expected that year. [See iPad-Killers Take Aim at the Tablet PC Market] -- Posted Tuesday, October 5, 2010 by chb

Mercedes Benz equips all dealerships with iPads
Mercedes-Benz Financial announced that it is distributing the 3G version of the Apple iPad to the entire Mercedes-Benz U.S. dealer network, giving all 355 dealers instant mobile access to its proprietary dealer point-of-sale system called MB Advantage. -- Posted Tuesday, October 5, 2010 by chb

How Apple clobbers the competition
MarketWatch published an excellent description and analysis of Apple's phenomenal success with a modest lineup of just four product lines (iMac, iPod, iPhone and iPad). [Read article] -- Posted Monday, September 27, 2010 by chb

Legacy pub calls iPad "long in the tooth"
Legacy computing publication PCWorld, who knows a thing or two about having been around the block a time or three, called the Apple iPad "already long in the tooth" and "creaky." What incensed the venerable tech pub so? The usual old complaints about the iPad: no camera, weighs more than some Android tablet with a 7-inch screen (duuh!), no Flash, and less RAM memory than the Galaxy Tabd tablet. [See "Apple iPad Already Long in the Tooth"] -- Posted Wednesday, September 15, 2010 by chb

Hotel group to provide in-room iPads
Morgans Hotel Group, a boutique hotel company, announced its plans to provide guests at its Royalton hotel with custom Apple iPads as an unprecedented supplement to its concierge program. This new initiative launches during New York Fashion Week and will continue indefinitely, with plans to embellish the unique features and content in the months to come. -- Posted Wednesday, September 15, 2010 by chb

iSuppli: Apple will dominate tablet market through 2012
According to a report by iSuppli Market Research, Apple is expected to dominate the tablet market at least through 2012. In 2010, the iPad accounts for 74% of all tablet shipments, with the remainder older-style Tablet PCs and competing ablets. In 2011, even with the advent of competition, the iPad is expected to maintain 70% of the market. In 2012, the iPad's share is still expected to be over 60%. iSuppli also says that it took iPhone competitors about three years to come up with truly competitive products. [See iSuppli release] -- Posted Thursday, August 26, 2010 by chb

Electric vehicle designer incorporates iPad
Why design an expensive custom onboard information system when an iPad can do? That's the approach avant-garde electric vehicle manufacturer T3 Motion takes by incorporating the iPad into its sleek GT3 as " the central information hub in the vehicle for everything from travel planning and GPS to audio, video and games." -- Posted Tuesday, August 3, 2010 by chb

How Antennagate will Impact Apple
Amidst all the hysterics on Apple's issues with the antenna in the iPhone 4 comes an authoritative opinion, that of Creative Strategies' Tim Bajarin. Tim, like myself, has actually been in several anechoic testing chambers and knows how to differentiate technology from media frenzy. [Read How Antennagate will Impact Apple"] -- Posted Monday, August 2, 2010 by chb

Infoworld: iOS 4 decisively beats Android 2.2
In a comprehensive feature entitled "Mobile deathmatch: Apple iOS 4 vs. Android 2.2", Infoworld concluded that "iOS 4 beats Android OS 2.2 in almost every category." iOS earned an overall 8.0 "very good" score whereas Android 2.2 received only a 6.1 rating and "fair" score. -- Posted Wednesday, July 21, 2010 by chb

iPad on the Road -- Part IV
And yet another trip with the iPad. This time a 10-day product review trip to the Honduran island of Roatan. I took along all my dive gear, as well as a boatload of underwater cameras, both of the still and video variety, so luggage space was at a premium... [read more] -- Posted Wednesday, July 21, 2010 by chb

PC World removes iPhone 4 from Top-10 chart
Legacy tech pub PC World has removed the iPhone 4 from its Top 10 Cell Phones chart, accusing the best-selling Apple product of "faulty hardware." [See PC World's announcement] -- Posted Wednesday, July 21, 2010 by chb

Socket introduces low-cost barcode scanners for iPad, iPhone, Ipod touch
Socket Mobile announced its new line of wireless barcode scanners designed specifically to work with the Apple iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. The Socket Bluetooth Cordless Hand Scanner (CHS) Series 7, starting at US$395, is a lightweight, pocket-sized barcode scanner with a range of up to 330 feet designed for healthcare, hospitality, retail and field service. -- Posted Tuesday, July 20, 2010 by chb

Monthly iPad orders over 2 million units
According to Digitimes Research, monthly iPad orders to Taiwan makers surpassed two million units for July, and volumes are expected to be as high or higher in the future. -- Posted Friday, July 9, 2010 by chb

Rapid growth predicted for tablets
According to an article in the Wall Street Journal and several other news sources, Barclay Capital predicted tablet unit sales of 15 million this year and almost 30 million in 2011, and that those sales will impact the netbook market. Barclay also suggested that strong tablet sales will benefit Google with its Android OS, companies that offer ARM-based processors, potentially HP with its newly acquired WebOS software technology, and, of course, Apple. Microsoft, on the other hand, may suffer a weakening of its long-held dominance in OS software, and Dell also may find the tablet market difficult. [See WSJ article] -- Posted Thursday, July 8, 2010 by chb

Apple sells 1.7 million iPhones in 3 days
Apple said it has sold 1.7 million iPhone 4 smartphones during the new phone’s first three days of availability, even with some consumers being unable to get a phone due to a lack of supply. This makes the iPhone 4 launch Apple's most successful product launch ever. [Read Apple press release] -- Posted Tuesday, June 29, 2010 by chb

Summary for you: Apple iOS 4
Apple's latest version of the iPhone OS, iOS 4, adds a number of handy new features that should appeal to almost everyone. David MacNeill describes all new features and recommends the upgrade to anyone with an iPhone 3/3GS or second gen iPod touch. [Read Apple iOS 4 on iPhone 3GS] -- Posted Tuesday, June 29, 2010 by chb

Can the iPhone 4 take pictures like a "real" camera?
Can a top-of-the-line smartphone like the Apple iPhone 4 take pictures as a "real" camera? To see if people can detect the difference, Washington Post blogger Rob Pegoraro took a series of shots with the iPhone 4 and also with a three year old digital camera. Much commentary ensued, and Pegoraro will publish the results later. [See "Can you tell an iPhone 4 photo from a 'real' camera's?"] -- Posted Tuesday, June 29, 2010 by chb

3 million iPads sold in 80 days
Apple says it has sold three million iPads, which means three million in the 80 days that the iPad has been available. Not bad considering that analysts predicted that perhaps two million iPads would be sold the whole first year. Then again, those guys hardly ever get things right. -- Posted Tuesday, June 22, 2010 by chb

600,000 iPhone 4 orders on first day
Apple apologized for a balky order process, and stated that 600,000 orders had been filed for the iPhone 4 on the first day. -- Posted Thursday, June 17, 2010 by chb

iPad on the Road -- Part III
Right on the heels of my last European trip, the iPad accompanied me on a very different kind of journey, a five-day dive trip to the California Channel Islands. That meant eight hours on the road each way to and from Santa Barbara, and the three days on the good ship Conception, an 80-foot dive vessel. [read more...] -- Posted Thursday, June 17, 2010 by chb

Altek releases 3.5G phone with 14mp CCD camera
Taiwanese Altek Corporation announced the launch of the Leo, a combination of 14-megapixel camera with a true 1/2.3-inch CCD imager (virtually all cameras in phones use CMOS imagers) with a 3.5G (HSDPA) smartphone based on the Android OS. The Leo has WiFi, a 480 x 800 pixel optically treated 3.2-inch multi-touch LCD, Xenon flash, LED illuminator, a 3X optical zoom that starts at 36mm equivalent, and can do 720p HD video with H.264 compression. According to Altek, the camera uses their own "Sunny 9" processor. Available later this year, products like the Altek Leo will face one big question: do consumers want a full-function camera in their phone, or will they continue to uses separate devices. [Read Altek press release and description] -- Posted Wednesday, June 16, 2010 by chb

Apple unveils the iPhone 4
As expected, at WWDC10 in San Francisco, Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the iPhone 4. It's a very handsome stainless steel/glass affair barely more than a third of an inch thick. Its display has four times the resolution of the iPhone 3GS (640 x 960 vs 320 x 480), the main camera is now 5-megapixel, there's a front-facing VGA second camera for video conferencing (via WiFi only for now), there's HD video recording, the same speedy Apple A4 processor as in the iPad, and a LED flash. The addition of a 3-axis gyro adds to the iPhone 4's awareness of motion and direction, and the battery is good for 7 hours of 3G talk, 6 hours of 3G browsing, 10 hours of WiFi browsing, 10 hours of video. The 16GB model will cost US$199, the 32GB version US$299. Pre-ordering will start June 15. Oh, and Apple now calls the iPhone OS iOS, and no word on relief from the AT&T monopoly or on the latest AT&T rate plan atrocities. [See iPhone 3 vs 4 comparison] -- Posted Monday, June 7, 2010 by chb

Wall Street Journal interviews Steve Jobs on the iPad
The Wall Street Journal ran an interesting article in the form of a Q&A session between the Journal's Walt Mossberg and Kara Swisher, and Steve Jobs. In it, Jobs talks about his approach to tablets, how it relates to Microsoft's, and how the tablet actually began before the iPhone. [Read article at the WSJ] -- Posted Monday, June 7, 2010 by chb

iPad on the Road - Part II
Back from a 3-1/2-day intercontinental trip that included a 17-hour trip to and a 22-hour trip back from Stockholm, Sweden. I checked what I'd usually consider a carry-on (the airlines don't charge for a checked bag on international routes, yet) and simply took along a shoulder bag just large enough for my MacBook Pro, a camera, the usual assortment of cables and chargers, and my iPad. How did that go? [...more] -- Posted Monday, June 7, 2010 by chb

iPad on the road - Part I
The editor takes his iPad 3G on the road, all the way to Sweden. So can the iPad replace the MacBook that came along as a backup? Can it handle full-blown presentations? Be ready for email and browsing whenever and wherever? Find out. [...more] -- Posted Tuesday, June 1, 2010 by chb

News managed by NewsPro.