http://www.abiresearch.comhttp://www.abiresearch.comen-usSat, 26 May 2012 02:59:12 EDT10© 2008 ABI Research.All Rights Reserved.http://www.abiresearch.com/images/unique/rsslogo.gifhttp://www.abiresearch.comhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AbiResearch-BlogsFeed/~3/4-dPThFG2Po/1772Thu, 24 May 2012 05:48:00 EDTDeveloped in the U.K. and targeted soon as an available spectrum cleared by UK terrestrial TV, Weightless is an evolving air interface specification designed to provide M2M device connectivity within white space spectrum. The key premise of weightless is that it can provide M2M coverage at a lower cost than rival network topologies - either short range wireless can provide to nearby gateway devices or embedded cellular connectivity leveraging already deployed cellular networks. Aimed at cellular operators, the technology can use the same base stations to provide coverage. Although this is a technology that can be leveraged across a range of M2M applications, the Weightless SIG's initial focus is the U.K.'s ongoing smart metering rollout. ... Wireless,http://www.abiresearch.com/research_blog/1772http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AbiResearch-BlogsFeed/~3/bMm0oHi9J58/1771Sat, 19 May 2012 05:31:00 EDTABI Research forecasts 208 million phablets, like the Samsung Galaxy Note, will be shipped globally in 2015. Despite the slow start for phablet smartphones in 2011, ABI Research believes the market is at the dawn of the phablet era. HTC, LG and Sony will each introduce phablet smartphones in 2012, joining the ranks of Samsung’s Galaxy Note and Nexus. Additionally, the release of the Samsung Galaxy S3 by the end of May, we will see another phablet smartphone. In a recent report on phablet smartphones and super smartphones, ABI Research examines the potential opportunities for these new smartphones, and defines phablets with a touch screen size between 4.6 to 5.5 inches. Global shipments for phablets will increase by a factor of 10 in 2012 f ... Mobile Devices,http://www.abiresearch.com/research_blog/1771http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AbiResearch-BlogsFeed/~3/RNoHjEE0xfs/1770Thu, 17 May 2012 11:07:27 EDTA recent review of the ABI Research teardown products showed that Wolfson Microelectronics is expanding its presence in smartphones with a number of new product lines. It's interesting to see three new parts appear in recent teardowns: The WM7130, a MEMS microphone The WM8915, a multi-channel ultra-low power audio hub for high quality voice and Hi-Fi quality multimedia playback and recording The WM1830, a low power audio DSP for high performance voice and multimedia enhancement The first part was found in the Motorola Droid 4 and the second two in the Blackberry Bold 9790.  This demonstrates that Wolfson in now starting to see a return on the investment it made purchasing MEMS microphone specialist Oligon in 2007. Winning a slot in ... Wireless,http://www.abiresearch.com/research_blog/1770http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AbiResearch-BlogsFeed/~3/BKPRVVY0S1o/1768Sun, 13 May 2012 15:30:00 EDTOver the weekend, unofficial news that Apple will use its own in-house mapping for iOS 6 has broken. Inevitably, a lot of pro-Apple websites were hailing the 3D element as revolutionary. When we get over the immediacy of this breaking news, it is hard to see how Apple has developed a solution that can compete with Google and Nokia/Microsoft, covering the many facets that make up a complete, worldwide mapping service. Information is still very limited. Is this a full-blown mapping solution or 3D city imagery? Is it US focused or worldwide? Can it support search and navigation? Is this even true? Certainly, the acquisition of C3 technologies was a very good one, and will bring the wow factor that Apple is so good at producing. Siri is a grea ... Location Platform and Enablers,http://www.abiresearch.com/research_blog/1768http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AbiResearch-BlogsFeed/~3/OPbLpLt1qQs/1767Thu, 10 May 2012 15:03:00 EDT  Dish Network today announced a new Auto Hop feature, which will enable customers to play a video without commercials starting the next day (1 PM EST) after recording of content.  This feature works on its PrimeTime Anytime service – the capability to simultaneously record the four major networks (ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox).  Technically, it appears to have technicians / editors manually entering (or verifying automated detection) of commercial breaks from an operators center.   Skipping ads in DVRs is nothing new - TiVo’s original implementation of commercial skipping (via a 30-second jump) was changed into a fast-forward to provide customers with some exposure to advertising.    Just over a year ago (in May 2011), Dish and Echostar settled ... Digital Home,http://www.abiresearch.com/research_blog/1767http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AbiResearch-BlogsFeed/~3/Vm6B1Q5PsAQ/1766Thu, 10 May 2012 11:24:00 EDTYesterday (9th May 2012), I had the opportunity to attend the second day of the Weightless SIG’s first plenary conference in Cambridge, England. In total, around 40 people were present with most of them representatives of the SIG’s membership base. Interestingly, representatives from a number of non-member companies such as Deutsche Telekom and Vodafone were also present, illustrating that MNOs are paying close attention to the development of the Weightless standard and the use of white space in M2M applications. The day consisted of presentations made by chairmen of the SIG's six sub-groups (Applications, MAC, PHY, Regulatory, Security and Testing & Certification), each of whom provided an update on their “chapter” of the Weightless ... Wireless,Smart Cities and Smart Grids,http://www.abiresearch.com/research_blog/1766http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AbiResearch-BlogsFeed/~3/JX502dz6Lb4/1765Thu, 10 May 2012 09:23:00 EDT​I’ve been testing Telefonica’s TU Me communication app since it hit the App Store yesterday, and I must say it has surprised me, and positively so. It is obviously still in a beta stage and has some severe minuses (doesn’t support group messaging, can’t run in the background, or doesn’t allow to delete old items), but none of that is anything that couldn’t be fixed fairly painlessly by an update or two. The upside, then, is that it offers a great VoIP quality, a smooth navigation UI, and a decent integration with the iPhone’s camera and GPS. And it stores all items in the Cloud (free at least for a year), which is a strong plus in my books. I’m genuinely looking forward to see how Telefonica will enhance/complete TU Me, and how it will pi ... Wireless,http://www.abiresearch.com/research_blog/1765http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AbiResearch-BlogsFeed/~3/Zo84lGunOCU/1764Tue, 8 May 2012 10:19:00 EDT​T-Mobile USA, the last of the mobile operators in the US to announce LTE upgrades has decided to continue using NSN and Ericsson as its suppliers for their LTE upgrade network. The network will be rolled out in 2013 and will cover 37,000 base stations. NSN and Ericsson have been supplying T-Mobile USA with 2G and 3G network equipment. Ericsson has been its prime supplier for 3G network upgrade which began in 2006 and NSN has been supplying its Flexi Base Stations for the AWS spectrum bands. T-Mobile has since acquired more AWS spectrum from AT&T as a result of the failed bid from AT&T. Based on the past relationship it can be assumed that Ericsson will continue to be the prime supplier while NSN will be the secondary supplier, mai ... Wireless,http://www.abiresearch.com/research_blog/1764http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AbiResearch-BlogsFeed/~3/e4w5IV0CsIA/1763Tue, 8 May 2012 07:16:00 EDT​The Samsung Galaxy SIII was unveiled last week in Earls Court, London. The glitzy launch event, Samsung Unpacked 2012, went to plan and the large European and Korean audience seemed impressed with Samsung’s latest smartphone. British television presenter, Suzi Perry, hosted the event and Samsung’s President of Mobile Communications, JK Shin, revealed the new smartphone by plucking it from his jacket pocket on stage. The hype and publicity around the new Samsung Galaxy S3 has been significant. Numerous rumours have spread around the industry and now it’s time to put them all to rest. ABI Research highlights the new features and specifications of the new smartphone: The smartphone screen size has been increased from 4.3 inches to 4.8 inches ... Mobile Devices,http://www.abiresearch.com/research_blog/1763http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AbiResearch-BlogsFeed/~3/YDv4zF1SgZs/1762Fri, 4 May 2012 12:14:00 EDT​There are a lot of blogs and articles making a big deal about the screen sizes of new phones.  There is a continuous trend of screen sizes getting bigger because generally it is a case of bigger is better.  The only problem is with how the phone fits into smaller hands.  But is 4.8" all that much larger?  Many people are wrongly comparing it to 4.3" screens.  4.3" screens are mostly aligned with Android 2.3 and silk-screened buttons.  Phones designed for Android 4.0 have screens that extend into where the silk-screened buttons used to be.  This was first seen with the Galaxy Nexus (4.65") which is not all that different in size from an older device with a 4.3" screen.So a 4.8" screen should really be compared ... Mobile Devices,http://www.abiresearch.com/research_blog/1762http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AbiResearch-BlogsFeed/~3/uERz064HjZM/1761Tue, 1 May 2012 09:59:00 EDTLate Sunday The Financial Times ran a story headlined “Google Warns Over Mobile Payments” http://on.ft.com/JaMG1D .  The lead paragraph reads “Google and PayPal have sounded the alarm in Brussels over a proposed joint venture between Britain’s biggest mobile phone operators, warning it could choke the fast-developing mobile payments market.”  The media will be sure to make a big stink over this apparent aggression. While I have no doubts that Google or PayPal would say these things about the joint venture in the U.K., it is important to note that at least Google did not offer any comment unsolicited.   This is a very important point – Google was asked by the EC to comment, according to the report.  In a paragraph halfway through the articl ... Wireless,Mobile Platforms,http://www.abiresearch.com/research_blog/1761http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AbiResearch-BlogsFeed/~3/ss9tGCEmWbs/1760Tue, 1 May 2012 09:05:00 EDT​At present, Europe leads the world in terms of the number of smart meters deployed (ABI Research estimates that almost 46 million units had been deployed across the region by the end of 2011). However, the vast potential of the market is still nowhere near close to being fully exploited. In fact, if you take Italy and the Scandinavian countries out of the equation, the combined installed base of the remainder of the continent is only around 5 million units. That said, activity is beginning to ramp up in some of the major markets such as Spain and the UK. Let's take a quick look at how UK-based utilities are shaping up to meet the government’s ambitious plans to have all business and residential electricity and gas meters converted to smar ... Smart Cities and Smart Grids,http://www.abiresearch.com/research_blog/1760http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AbiResearch-BlogsFeed/~3/eHHjuLNW0LI/1759Fri, 27 Apr 2012 15:32:00 EDTOn April 26th the National Retail Federation told the Federal Trade Commission to stay out of mobile payments http://bit.ly/JxG0uv .  They gave several  lucid reasons for doing so:   ·         Any regulations adopted “should parallel those for the underlying form of payment and not be specific to the technology” ·         Mobile technology and practices are just emerging and “the government should not impose regulations that would forestall yet-to-be-imagined advances and innovation in order to avoid potential harm based largely on speculation” ·         Mobile phones are “just a device, not a payment” and that “actual payment could take place via a credit or debit card, directly from a bank account, be processed through the user’s phone b ... Wireless,Mobile Platforms,http://www.abiresearch.com/research_blog/1759http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AbiResearch-BlogsFeed/~3/q-_qerBKGJU/1758Fri, 27 Apr 2012 04:35:00 EDT​The hotly anticipated Samsung Galaxy S3 will be launched on May 3 at Earls Court (exhibition center) in London. The new smartphone has generated quite a stir in the mobile industry after the great success of Samsung's last model, the Galaxy S2. Many people believe the S3 will only have a few minor adjustments and upgrades from S2; however, opinions differ greatly. In this ABI Insight, let's looks at some of the news and rumors about this new smartphone. Speculation about the latest Samsung Galaxy 3 has spread far and wide. Let's run through a few bits of the juicy gossip: The screen size is anticipated to increase from the SII's 4.3-inch screen to between 4.6 and 4.8 inches and using HD in 1080p. Additionally, the screen's pixel density i ... Mobile Devices,http://www.abiresearch.com/research_blog/1758http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AbiResearch-BlogsFeed/~3/FSaKp-W24N8/1757Fri, 27 Apr 2012 00:10:00 EDTDatawind, popularly known for its association with the Indian government’s  Aakash project,  unveiled two new tablets Ubislate7+ and Ubislate7C in New Delhi yesterday for open market sale, competing against several other low cost tablets available in the Indian market.  These tablets are upgraded versions of the previously offered “Aakash” (Ubislate 7) tablet. The two new tablets have almost similar specifications and differ only in terms of display type and internal storage capacity. Key specifications include 7” display, Android 2.3 Operating system, Cortex A8 800 MHz processor, 256 MB RAM, Wi-Fi and GPRS connectivity, micro-SD card slot and USB port. The 3200 mAh battery is a big improvement from the 2100 mAh battery in its earlier offe ... Mobile Devices,http://www.abiresearch.com/research_blog/1757http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AbiResearch-BlogsFeed/~3/pKctB6NppgM/1756Thu, 26 Apr 2012 18:48:00 EDT​I’ve been a happy user of a Samsung Galaxy S phone since 10/19/12 (or so T-Mobile tells me).  I’m a heavy and regular user of productivity apps, including Gmail, Outlook, Google Reader, the web browser, and Google Maps.  I’ve had my share of fun with some games, including Angry Birds, Doodle Jump, Plants vs. Zombies and even Drag Racing (why, I don’t know).  My kids (3 & 5) love to pry it from my hands to watch the Cat in the Hat, color with Zebra Paint, do puzzles, play Chuzzle, etc.  As a TV & Video analyst, I’ve tested and/or used a number of video applications on my phone, including Netflix, HBO Go (far and away the best UI and experience), Cox Connect to program my mom’s DVR (ugh! In so many ways) as well as sideloaded some m ... Digital Home,Mobile Devices,http://www.abiresearch.com/research_blog/1756http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AbiResearch-BlogsFeed/~3/UgfGmYJMuaM/1755Thu, 26 Apr 2012 11:56:00 EDT​HTC’s total revenues for Q1 2012 were $2.3 billion (67.8 billion New Taiwan Dollars), dropping by 33.2% from the previous quarter, and declining 34.9% from Q1 2011. The Taiwanese company’s gross margin was 25.03% and operating margin 7.53%; again, both financial ratios declined from the previous quarters by 2.09% and 5.18%, respectively. Additionally, HTC’s market share in the US has suffered greatly at the hands of Apple’s iPhone 4S and HTC’s CEO, Peter Chou, believes it will be impossible for HTC to dominate the US market in the near-term future. HTC have stated several reasons for its revenue declines. First, the company is transitioning between different product cycles. Second, it has changed its strategy focus from Q1 2011 due to the ... Mobile Devices,http://www.abiresearch.com/research_blog/1755http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AbiResearch-BlogsFeed/~3/hub_aUYsBd8/1754Mon, 23 Apr 2012 19:43:00 EDTAs part of their new "One Series" line of smartphones, the HTC One X is getting a lot of publicity since its recent launch. The latest release in this series, the HTC One S should gain much more attention for what's under the hood. The One X has components we have seen in prior phones but the One S sports the very first 28nm S4 chipset from Qualcomm, the MSM8260A. The MSM8260A comes in 33% smaller than its older sibling, the MSM8260, but it contains more power in that smaller size.   The One X will not be forgotten though. ABI Research expects that when it hits the USA shortly, it will also contain a 28nm chip from Qualcomm. This chip has the same application processor capability but adds LTE compatibility to the modem. Se ... http://www.abiresearch.com/research_blog/1754http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AbiResearch-BlogsFeed/~3/2PdIGvFvqVA/1753Mon, 23 Apr 2012 12:35:00 EDTAs I type this a presentation is about to begin covering STE's announcement today​regarding its new focus - Platform ICs.   A logical step no doubt, STE is one of few companies that has the product portfolio to be a platform IC supplier. It has struggled of late, that is well documented. I have followed this in previous insights:   -       The Metamorphosis: ST-Ericsson Continues to Transform towards a New Lease of Life   -       Has ST-Ericsson Finally Made the Transition to Higher-End Products?   It is building its new strategy on 4 key points: 1.     Focus of integrated platforms for smartphones and media tablets There have been signs of growth in STE’s platform ICs, it announced over 5 design wins at MWC for its Nova Thor platform.  Th ... Wireless,Mobile Devices,http://www.abiresearch.com/research_blog/1753http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AbiResearch-BlogsFeed/~3/THELcjdcEDE/1752Thu, 19 Apr 2012 09:00:00 EDT​I found this blog post by FourBros Studio, an independent app developer, a good read. It sheds a lot of interesting light on the success the firm’s Taptitude game has seen on WP7. As such it is a great example of the revenue opportunities developers can unlock if they manage to create an early hit for a still nascent storefront like Windows Marketplace. Moreover, it includes a chart (“Taptitude Players by Device”) that prompted me to take another back-on-the-envelope-style angle on the continuing guess game about Lumia 900 sales. Assuming that Nokia sold one million Lumia 710s and 800s in Q4 and two million in Q1, the installed base at end-March would have been three million. There were 91 days in Q1, which puts the sales per day at appr ... Mobile Devices,Mobile Platforms,http://www.abiresearch.com/research_blog/1752