Android market share continues to increase

Google's Android platform shipped 33.3 million units, or roughly one-third of the 101.2 million smartphones shipped across the globe, Canalys said.

Google's Android operating system became the world's leading smartphone platform, accounting for 33.3 million of the 101.2 million smartphones shipped worldwide in the fourth quarter 2010, according to researcher Canalys.

Canalys, which crunched smartphone shipments across North America, Asia Pacific, EMEA and Latin America, said Android edged the struggling Nokia, which sold 31 million units for the quarter.

Android's market share closed hewed to its shipment total, at 32.9 percent, while Nokia was at 30.6 percent share through Q4.

Apple sold 16.2 million iPhones, good for a 16 percent share and solid third place. Research In Motion, which finds its smartphone leadership position squeezed in the U.S. market by Apple iPhones and Android handsets, followed Apple with 14.6 million units shipped on 14.4 percent share.

No. 5 smartphone provider Microsoft's unit shipments and market share were 3.1 million and 3.1 percent, respectively for Q4.

HTC and Samsung together accounted for nearly 45 percent of Android handset shipments worldwide.

Moreover, Android's volume growth was astronomical across LG, Samsung, Acer and HTC, where shipment volumes grew 4,127 percent, 1,474 percent, 709 percent and 371 percent, respectively, from the year-ago period.

Android clearly didn't catch fire in the market until 2010, partly triggered by the first major marketing push of Verizon's Motorola Droid and HTC Droid Eris in the 2009 holiday season.

While Canalys analyst Chris Jones allowed that 2010 was a "fantastic year for the smartphone market," he expects 2011 to be a highly competitive year as Google, Apple, RIM and Microsoft tout newfangled technologies.

Jones pointed to the arrival of dual-core processors, near field communications chips and 3D displays in smartphone software and handsets.

Indeed, Motorola is seizing on the dual-core momentum to bring the Motorola Atrix 4G from AT&T this quarter and the Droid Bionic in Q2.

Samsung already sells the Android-based Nexus S with NFC support. Ideally, this capability will enable mobile payments and other perks to take advantage of the short-range wireless technology.

Android led the U.S. smartphone market in shipping 12.1 million units for Q4, or nearly three times those of RIM's BlackBerry devices.

Don't forget about Apple. Canalys analyst Tim Shepherd said the U.S. mobile market will "shift dramatically" in 2011 thanks to Verizon's agreement to sell the iPhone 4 starting Feb. 10.

"Verizon will move its focus away from the Droid range, but the overall market impact will mean less carrier-exclusive deals, while increasing the AT&T opportunity for Android vendors, such as HTC, Motorola and Samsung," Shepherd added.

Most analysts expect iPhone to easily outstrip Android in the United States, tacking 10 million to 20 million unit sales via Verizon alone.

Samsung admits Galaxy Tab sales 'quite small'

Samsung has admitted that the reported 2 million sales figure for its Galaxy Tab device refers to the volume of units shipped to retailers and wireless companies, and not actual number sold to consumers, according to a news report.

The Korean electronics giant dropped the revelation during its quarterly earnings call last week, according to a report Monday in the Wall Street Journal.

The article quoted Lee Young-Hee, Samsung's head of mobile marketing, to say that the number of Galaxy Tabs sold to consumers has been "quite small". The executive did not provide actual sales figure.

Lee, in a response to an analyst, described Samsung's "sell-in" to be "quite aggressive" and around 2 million, compared to its "sell-out" which was "quite small". Sell-in refers to Samsung's sales to distributors, while sell-out points to distributor's sales to consumers.

Three months following the official release of the tablet, Samsung announced that 1 million Galaxy Tabs were sold in December last year, growing later to 2 million in January, stated the Wall Street Journal.

Young said in the article: "We believe, as the introduction of a new device, it was required to have consumers invest in the device. So therefore, even though sell-out wasn't as fast as we expected, we still believe sell-out was quite OK."

While she did not provide a forecast, Young said Samsung is "quite optimistic" about 2011 sales. "As you know, the tablet is relatively new and we need to see how the market develops before we give any firm numbers," she said in the report.

The company's first Android-powered tablet, touted as a close rival to Apple's iPad, made its debut in Singapore last November.

Meanwhile, Microsoft last week announced it sold more than 2 million Windows Phone 7 devices, but had stated that the figure represented handsets sold to mobile operators and not consumers.

HTC Desire HD to hit India: Specs & Review

Micromax Mobile with EMI www.HomeShop18.com/MobilePhones
Attractive Pricing +1 YR Warranty Free Delivery - India. Buy Now!
Ads by Google

All New Samsung Laptops
With exciting features for perfect
mobile experience. Beyond Ordinary!
www.Samsung.com/in/Laptop

Samsung Mobile Phones
Buy & Sell Latest Samsung Mobiles
at Best Price Deals. Quick Response
Clickindia.com/Samsung-Mobile-Phone

Best Blackberry Plan @399
Unlimited Email, Chat & Internet
Get Blackberry on Tata Docomo Now
tatadocomo.com/BestBlackberryplan
New Delhi, Feb 1: After the launch of Windows Phone 7 powered Mozart, Taiwan based smartphone manufacturer HTC is all set to create waves in Indian handset market once again. HTC is planning to launch its 'powerful' smartphone HTC Desire HD in India soon.

Buzz up!
HTC launched Desire HD smartphone in Sep 2010 in the international market. Now, this handset heads to India to win the hearts of gadget lovers. HTC Desire HD has a 4.3-inch WVGA Super LCD display that makes it a perfect multimedia phone. This 3G powered smartphone offers maximum entertainment to the users.


The Desire HD offers an 8 megapixel camera at rear with dual LED flash and is capable of shooting High Definition videos in 720p. This smartphone runs on Android 2.2 Froyo operating system powered with 1GHz Qualcomm processor. The phone provides better graphics performance with Adreno 205.

The Desire HD also has FM radio, PAM (Proximity, Ambient Light, Motion) sensors, digital compass, 768MB RAM and 1.5GB ROM. The connectivity options include Bluetooth 2.1+EDR, Wi-Fi and AGPS.

HTC Desire HD Specifications & Features:
* 4.3-inch WVGA Super LCD display
* Multi-touch input method
* 8 MP camera, supports HD video
* Dual LED flash at rear
* Android 2.2 Froyo OS
* 1GHz Qualcomm processor
* Adreno 205 graphics accelerator
* HTC Sense UI
* GPS processor
* 1.5 GB, 768 MB RAM
* Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, DLNA
* Bluetooth
* MicroUSB 2.0
* Stereo FM radio with RDS
* Li-Ion 1230 mAh battery

The price of HTC Desire HD in India is expected around Rs 28,000. Some of the retail shops listed this smartphone in in-stock list, but HTC has to announce the official launch. Stay tuned for more updates.

Now Lodge Police Complaints Online

People have always deterred from lodging a police complaint, fearing it being a tedious process amongst other worries. But now, you can lodge a police complaint online, thanks to the e-complaint initiative of Maharashtra government to be kicked off in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and Thane in this week, according to a report. Proposed in August last year, this project will finally see the light of the day.

All you need to do is to log on to http://maharashtra.gov.in and upload your complaint along with your mobile number. Soon after, you will receive a quick reply and an e-complaint number will be sent to your mobile for future reference to your complaint. Maps of each and every police station will be provided for the complainant to find out under which jurisdiction is he or she to lodge the e-complaint.

But if you think that e-complaint is the same as filing an FIR (First Information Report), then it is not so. After you file the e-complaint, the concerned police station will fix an appointment with you, so that you may visit the police station in person to lodge a formal FIR.

According to Rajkumar Vhatkar, deputy commissioner police (Operations), "The best part of this e-complaint facility is that every e-complaint will have accountability. As the complaint progresses, the complainant will be informed at each and every stage." The progress of the case will also be updated online. The website can be accessed here, although it shows that it is awaiting approval and will be formally launched soon.

While the fact remains that most people still tend to keep away from the police station due to undue fears, the e-complaint initiative will surely provide them with at least a little respite.

ARM profits jump on strong iPad, smartphone demand

Profits rose to £167.4m pre-tax in the year to December 31, up from £96.8m the previous year. Revenue rose 29pc to £406.6m. The Cambridge-based company designs microchips for almost all of the world's smartphones and tablet devices, including the iPhone and iPad.

More than 1.1bn ARM-processor based chips found their way into mobile devices in the fourth quarter, the company said in its results statement. This led to a better-than-expected 47pc rise in the chip designer's profit in the final three months of the year to £47.6m on revenues up 34pc to £113.9m.

Warren East, the chief executive of Arm, said: "2011 will bring exciting opportunities and challenges as ARM enters competitive new markets and we are well positioned to succeed with leading technology, an innovative business model and a thriving ecosystem of partners."

ARM shares rose 2.7pc in early trading in London. The company, which began life in a converted turkey shed 20 years ago and joined the FTSE 100 last year, has seen its shares rise 179pc over the past twelve months.

The company licenses its designs to technology companies and collects between 5 cents and 60 cents in royalties from every device sold.

Kobian Unveils Low-Cost Mobile Phones

Budget handset maker Kobian has launched two new handsets for the Indian market - Mercury Viva and Mercury Roxy.

The Viva is a dual-SIM handset that boasts of a new feature called Magic Voice that lets you change your voice. The handset comes with a 1.3 megapixel camera, MP3 support, Bluetooth and expandable memory. It houses a 1700 mAh battery, which promises 8 hours of talk-time and 18 days of standby.

The Mercury Roxy on the other hand comes with a 2-inch LCD display, FM radio, Bluetooth and expandable memory. The phone comes with support for MSN and Skype. Details of its camera have not been disclosed.

Mercury Viva is priced at Rs. 1,999 while Mercury Roxy costs Rs. 2,299.

SMS REV to 59995 to get expert reviews on latest phones, laptops, cameras and more.

SMS TIPS to 59995 to get Tips and Tricks for phones, laptops, cameras and more.
Rs. 3 per SMS

Indian Govt. Insists on Email Access from RIM

Two days ago, Canadian handset maker Research in Motion told The Wall Street Journal that the company will not be able to give corporate email access to the Indian government; mostly because the encryption keys that protect these enterprise emails rest with the ones who used them and not with RIM. India's Home Minister P. Chidambaram told reporters, "We will insist they give us a solution for [the] enterprise service too." And thus the tug of war between RIM and the Indian government continues.

The Indian government demanded BlackBerry Enterprise Services access mostly for security reasons to monitor and check for any activity that could hinder India's security. RIM has already given access to BlackBerry Messenger services for lawful interception by Indian security agencies. However, RIM has been quite adamant and straight forward about providing access to enterprise email. Time and again, RIM has been stating that what the Indian government is demanding is technologically impossible.

Chidambaram said that further course of action would be decided by the home ministry and the communications ministry together. The Indian government believes that strong encryption in the emails allows terrorists to communicate amongst themselves. As per RIM, the encryption keys of the enterprise email lies on the corporate services owned by the respective corporate company.

Now the argument and requirements are quite open and clear. The Indian government wants lawful access to monitor corporate emails and RIM defends saying that it's not feasible. Now, in this tug of war, several BlackBerry users fear that a ban on BlackBerry email services might be laid upon in case RIM doesn't offer the demanded solution.





SMS REV to 59995 to get expert reviews on latest phones, laptops, cameras and more.

SMS TIPS to 59995 to get Tips and Tricks for phones, laptops, cameras and more.
Rs. 3 per SMS