March 19th, 2010
Palm isn’t doing particularly well, even though it has a impressive product with the WebOS. Last quarter they sold just over 400,000 smartphones and lost $22 million. With a refreshed Palm Pre / Pixi and new carriers going live, Palm would have expected better sales, but they themselves had cut the guidance a while back. IMO part of this can be blamed to the poor advertising of the Pre compared to the Droid or Nexus One and at the same time as Jon Rubinstein himself points out – delay in getting on Verizon (i.e. going on sale after Droid).
What excited me is the fact that Palm (at-least as per Jon Rubinstein’s statement) is making good progress on future products and they are looking to come up with new carrier partners when these products go on sale. Another interesting perspective is the possibility of Google (or any other smartphone maker) buying out Palm which would be valued below $1 billion. Given the aggression Apple has shown with patent disputes with HTC and Nokia, Palm certainly has a good patent (more…)
Categories: Market Watch, Tech Industry News, smartphones |
Tags: jon rubinstein, palm, palm 2010, palm pre plus, palm pre sales, palm revenue, palm review, palm smartphones, pre plus sales, sales | 1 Comment
March 9th, 2010
Blackberry remains the highest selling smartphone in the US, thanks to the plethora of business handsets it has to offer. One company that is fast catching up (and currently in no 2 position) is the Apple iPhone. Analyst prediction says that the iPhone would overtake Blackberry in sales sometime in 2011.
RIM’s touchscreen attempt with the Blackberry has failed to matchup and failed to counter the touch hype that iPhone has created. Meantime the iPhone 3GS has went on to be the best selling iPhone ever with Apple unable to go ahead with its global roll out as scheduled due to stock issues. Apple is expected to nab a 11% market share where as RIM Blackberry is seen at 8% in 2011. While a lot (more…)
Categories: Apple, Market Watch, Tech Industry News, iphone, smartphones |
Tags: iphone vs blackberry, market share of iphone, rim and apple, smartphone industry, smartphones 2011 | 1 Comment
February 27th, 2010
Dell had previously shown its rumored tablet device to only a few lucky journos at CES this year. Now, Mr. Neeraj Choubey, the company’s GM of tablets division, has told Wired.com that Dell Mini 5 won’t be a single tablet PC, instead a family of tablets varying in sizes, along with other advances over iPad which will help in truly creating a separate category of tablet PCs. We really hope they see value in adding a sliding QWERTY to the design.
Michael Dell, founder and CEO of Dell Inc., says that the Mini 5 will debut “in a couple of months” and will run on Android (2.0 or higher).
Dell Mini 5 specs:
(more…)
Categories: Android, Market Watch, eReaders & Tablets, netbook, smartphones |
Tags: android tablet, apple ipad, dell mini, dell mini 5, dell mini 5 vs the ipad, dell mini series, ipad, ipad competitor, tablet | 1 Comment
February 22nd, 2010
Its a routine report every year to predict that Apple products would strain NAND flash memory supplies. Ever since the iPod was a hit, Apple has become a major consumer of NANA flash memory and the demand from Apple has only increased with the success of the iPhone in recent years. So just as I looked to jump over the title of this Digitimes report that reads ‘iPhone to strain NAND flash supply for 2010, says iSuppli’; something hit my eye – An average of 35.2GB of NAND will be used in each iPhone sold in 2010.
Now how can that be possible with the iPhone 3GS only being available in 16GB & 32GB variants? Certainly this points towards the iPhone 4th Gen having a 64GB (or more?) capacity. Though I might be wrong with iPod touch already being available in 64GB variant and iSuppli might well have bundled iPod touch under the iPhone term, you never know what really rolls out these analyst estimates!
Categories: Market Watch, iphone, rumor |
1 Comment
February 16th, 2010
GPS on phone is now something very common and just one of the things the smartphone boom has brought to us. As much as these mobiles threat the digital camera market, portable GPS navigation devices have now become one of the endangered species. Till recently software and hardware for GPS navigation systems was a separate business, but over the last few months the dynamics of this market has changed. Google made its big announcement by throwing in its free navigation software on the android, engadget pointed out the sharp fall TomTom and Garmin took.
The google app wasn’t really a killer though it had its own charm and goodness. But the requirement of a continuous Internet connection (atleast in the current beta form) sinks it. Add to that only US support for now. We know that Google maps come together from as many as 6 teams coming together and they would certainly do better things in time to come, but what has really acted as a catalyst to the entire situation is the entry of Ovi maps to the scene. (more…)
Categories: Apple, Google, Market Watch, iphone, nokia |
Tags: 3 million downloads, Apple iPhone 4th gen, google maps, gps navigation, ovi maps | No Comments
February 16th, 2010
Toshiba has unveiled two new phones in Barcelona during the Mobile World Congress 2010. One of the handsets is the successor of the popular Toshiba TG01, called the Toshiba TG02. Other is a slider with a physical QWERTY hidden underneath, called the Toshiba KG01. (more…)
Categories: Announcements, Market Watch, Tech Industry News, windows mobile |
Tags: mwc 10, mwc 2010, Toshiba, toshiba capacitative touchscreen, toshiba kg01, Toshiba qwerty, toshiba tg02, toshiba touchscreen qwerty | No Comments
February 14th, 2010
No I ain’t speculating, but fact remains that both android and iPhone comes from really sophisticated Internet + software companies, I may be wrong but I doubt if Samsung can deliver that level of a smartphone os. The touchwiz UI powered Bada OS IMO would be good support for Samung’s media rich devices. Having handled the Omnia pro recently, I can very well see the need for Samsung to have it’s own software powering it’s taste if UI (the WinMo is horribly modded with the widgets interface).
One thing that has brought tremendous success to Samsung is the iPhone wannabes strategy. They have artfully catered to the sub $200 market with good looking touchscreens. The Corby & Star i.e. These phones aren’t about rich experience in terms of mobile internet or smart apps, but they give what the Rs 10k junta wants – good looks, iPhone style full touchscreen & feeling of a smartphone. If Samsung can pack a better OS (a much more matured OS as I like to call them) in a $200 full touchscreen like Corby, the potential is killer!
But that might not be the real reason Samsung wants the Bada OS. A great motivation behind the Bada OS might well be the apps market. Mobile apps is now raking in billions and Samsung sure wants to monetize this segment with it’s own OS>developers>apps ecosystem. With over 50 million Samsung touch phones by Samsung being out In the market, the opportunity is certainly exciting.
So will Samsung crack the app store model for itself? Probably yes. But will Bada really bring in competition for Android and iPhone? Unlikely!
Categories: Market Watch, Softwares, samsung, smartphones |
Tags: bada, bada os, iphone vs android vs bada, platform wars, samsung, samsung bada os, samsung bada vs iphone, smartphone os | 2 Comments
February 6th, 2010
If there is anything that the poor sales of the Google Nexus One proves to me, its the control, the evil control rather – that the US carriers have over the mobile market. Long before Google unveiled the Nexus one, it was rumored that Cupertino is cooking plans to end the carrier raj in US. In their small way they did, however Nexus One was tied to T-Mobile. Selling solely over the Internet, NexusOne is surely rated high by the powerusers. I can see the craze amongst my friends on twitter here in India (with a few luck ones getting the device already).
So why did it do just 80000 units in the first month? (more…)
Categories: Android, Google, Market Watch |
Tags: android nexus one, android sales, Google, google nexus, google super phone, nexus, nexus one, nexus one sales, tmobile google, tmobile goole | 1 Comment
January 22nd, 2010
Lenovo IdeaPad S10-3T made its first appearance in the CES 2010. The IdeaPad netbook charmed a lot of viewers with its 180 degree swiveling screen which transforms it into a tablet. The netbook is now available for pre-order on Amazon for $499.99. Its specifications are – (more…)
Categories: Lenovo, Market Watch, netbook |
Tags: idea pad, ideapad, Lenovo, lenovo ideapad, lenovo netbook tablet, Lenovo S10-3T, netbook, pre order | No Comments
January 17th, 2010
Just when we thought the tariff war among GSM providers in India had peaked with Tata DoCoMo announcing the pay-per-character Diet-SMS Scheme, we were left pleasantly surprised when the same company took the price war to a whole new level by announcing a “Timed SMS” scheme. What it means is that users type an SMS right now and provide a later date and time, when that SMS will actually be sent to the recipient.
As a natural response to this, Airtel has come out with a similar service of its own, called the “Timer SMS”. Here are the formats for you. (more…)
Categories: Market Watch, Tech Industry News |
Tags: airtel, Bharti Airtel, docomo, pre-scheduled sms scheme, scheduled sms, tata docomo, timed sms, timer sms | No Comments
January 15th, 2010
If you are thinking that I am comparing the original sales that Steve Jobs got with the 3GS launch in 2009, you are wrong mister. Vodafone just got the rights to sell the 3GS in UK and this coincides with the Nexus One Global rollout by Google. So whats the figures like?
Google Nexus One: 20000 units globally in first week
3GS by Vodafone UK: 50000 units on opening day 
Categories: Android, Market Watch, iphone, smartphones |
Tags: 3gs uk, google vs apple, iphone 3gs sales, iphone uk, iphone vs android, nexus one sales, nexus one vs 3gs, vodafone uk | No Comments
January 11th, 2010
Its 3 years since we saw the first glimpse of the Apple smartphone and over the past 2.5 yrs it has changed the face of the mobile industry. The iPhone in no time has managed to top the charts and become one of the biggest money churners for Apple. This is to such an extent that iPhone now makes more money for Apple than what Nokia the biggest manufacturer of cellphones in the world earns.
So its natural for us to compare any new smatphone with the iPhone and its a fact that many of them came up after the iPhone with a similar design. Is that a right approach? While I still believe that comparing phones of different form factors is not exactly the right thing to do, the fact remains that the innovation on the iPhone is not just about the form but lot more. The UI, multi touch support since inception, amazing web integration and the App Store to name a few. These things are independent of the form factor and I won’t be surprised if we shall see something which is not a full touchscreen (i.e. sans keyboard) like the iPhone succeed beyond the heights that Apple has touched in this market.
One thing that makes me love the Palm Pre is the amazing integration of a (more…)
Categories: Market Watch, Reviews, iphone |
Tags: apple vs palm, iphone reveiw, market review, palm pre, smartphoen market | No Comments
December 30th, 2009
Apple might be on for a better quarter than what most analysts are predicting. The latest we heard is that the iPhone is on track to sell 11 million units in quarter ending Dec 2009. This is certainly huge given the yearly target that Steve Jobs himself set for the iPhone in 2007 was 10 million. 11 million this quarter would mean either the iPhone would be ahead of RIM’s Blackberry in sales or just neck and neck with them. But an interesting observation is seen in how the iPod touch is performing this holiday season.
Apparently the iPod touch saw a huge spike in app downloads activity on Christmas day. According to Flurry (mobile application analytics for mobile application developers across iPhone, Android, Blackberry and Java ME) the iPod touch saw a 1000% spike in app downloads on Christmas day and it happened to be the first day its activity surpassed the iPhone. This clearly shows that the iPod touch was gifted more than the iPhone (obvious). With the iPhone sales figure shooting as high as 11 million, you might well be surprised by a super-hit performance score by the iPod touch aswell. All eyes on the Apple earnings call and the rumored January 26th event!
Via Mobile Crunch
Categories: Apple, Market Watch, iphone |
Tags: apple earnings call, apple sales, december 2009 sales, iphone sales, ipod touch sales, numbers, sales | 11 Comments
November 1st, 2009
With the major cellphone OS application stores already in place, why should the one having the largest market share be left out? We are talking about Symbian. The platform has announced that its own application store is now ‘open’.
The announcement about the Symbian application store, dubbed Horizon, came at (more…)
Categories: First look, Market Watch, Softwares, Tech Industry News, mobile app |
Tags: Hoizon Symbian store, symbain horizon app store, symbian, Symbian app store, Symbian Horizon | 4 Comments
September 13th, 2009
Apple introduced some new changes in its iPod lineup at the Annual Music Event. The new changes also brought in the new pricing. Here is a quick list of features and pricing (India) of the iPods. (more…)
Categories: Apple, Market Watch, Tech Industry News |
Tags: buy ipod in india, ipod price in india, new ipod price, pricing | No Comments
September 4th, 2009
Nokia has put up the N900 for pre-order in the US for early birds who want to take home the latest smartphone form the world largest mobile manufacturer. The phone is available for pre-order at $649. The deal gets even better with the Nokia BH-703 Bluetooth Headset. The N900 is irresistible with all those hot features. The only catch here is that its 3G works only with T-Mobile’s network.
In Europe, the N900 is available for pre-order at €500 ($710), no contract.
via [Nokia]
Categories: Market Watch, nokia |
Tags: buy n900, n900, nokia n900, nokia n9000, price n900 | 1 Comment
July 23rd, 2009
Looks like the internet giant is feeling too big to carry its own weight. Yahoo is shedding off some bulge off its side tires by selling off HotJobs and Small Business. Hopefully this will help Yahoo get some focus on its core business.
For the past 2-3 months since Yahoo is looking to offload HotJobs and Small Business. The hunt is for some strategic investor to sell these off to, like Careerbuilder or Monster.com. Yahoo also announced this week about reshaping of its homepage to generate better appeal to web-surfers and internet advertisement.
There had been days when one would go to Yahoo for everything, be it mail, search, news, chat, games. But with too much diversification and fierce competition (Google .. ah ahm), Yahoo is loosing the grip. Shedding off some extra bulge may help Yahoo gain the grip back.
via [Reuters]
Categories: Market Watch, Tech Industry News |
Tags: recession, yahoo, yahoo HotJobs, yahoo selling, yahoo Small Business | No Comments
July 20th, 2009
The Cookie has been a super hit for LG, with the sales exceeding 5 million units. This makes the LG Cookie KP500 one of the best commercial successes while making a iPhone style device. The 5 million mark has come in just 9 months for the LG Cookie and the company aims to sell 10 million of these by year end.
Inspired by the Apple gizmo, the LG Cookie is an affordable touchscreen with some good features. In India the LG Cookie is currently priced below Rs 10000, whereas an iPhone would cost Rs 30000 or more. Others like the Nokia 5800 have also done reasonable well. However we are yet to see something that will beat the iPhone in its own game (Pre 2?).
Categories: LG, Market Watch, Tech Industry News |
Tags: cookie, kp500, lg cookie, lg kp500, lg sales | 5 Comments
July 17th, 2009
According to a survey conducted by The Music Ally Speakerbox, the Compact Disc or CDs are still the most popular source of music, even in the era of digital downloads and iTunes.
Conducted on 1000 people, the survey revealed that around 73% of people still prefer CD to the Digital Download from a service like iTunes. The survey includes all people from all age group. The more surprising results comes from the youngsters. Around 66% of respondents in the age group of 14 to 18 said that they prefer purchasing a CD than online music purchase. The audio cassettes may be out, but the CDs cannot be put in the same box yet.
“While we fully expect that digital will eventually replace most physical consumption, this is not a clear cut replacement cycle like the change from vinyl to CD. It’s particularly encouraging that those who are listening to streamed music on their computers are actually buying more music on both CDs and downloads than the average music fan. This suggests that digital can and is being used as a way of sampling new music which users may then go on to purchase,” added Music Ally chief executive Paul Brindley.
Which medium do you use for your music purchases. Tell us in the comments.
via [MaximumPC]
Categories: Market Watch, PMP - Portable Media, Tech Industry News |
Tags: cd, Compact Disc, itunes, music, music industry, Paul Brindley, survey | 1 Comment
July 2nd, 2009
With a total of 415 million cellphone connections India is the fastest growing mobile market globally. Just a year back this number was at 277 million. Such growth comes with its own side effects. Having exhausted the 9 series, mobile operators in India are all set to issue mobile connections beginning with ‘8′. Janta would surely find this weird, having being accustomed to mobile nos starting with no 9 for over 10 years now. But this would still be better than 11 digit mobile nos that will might slip in 2010.
Department of Telecom and TRAI are burdened with many things. From the upcoming implementation of number portability to 3G auctions, banning of Chinese phones to ensuring privacy (Do Not Call etc), the mobile markets exponential growth keeps the regulators busy.
Via @danishk
Categories: Market Watch, Tech Industry News |
Tags: cell phone, india, india mobile, mobile nos, numbers | 1 Comment
