Smartphone Product & Service Trends

DROID PRO by Motorola Now Available on the Nation’s Largest and Most Reliable 3G Network

2010-11-08T14:49:00.000-08:00

Verizon Wireless and Motorola announced that DROID PRO, the first Android™-based smartphone optimized for business use, will be available as a pre-sale order at select Verizon Wireless Communications Stores and online atwww.verizonwireless.com starting Nov. 9 and for purchase in stores starting Nov. 18. The DROID PRO will be available for $179.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate with a new two-year customer agreement. DROID PRO, a global-ready Android smartphone, allows customers to enjoy wireless voice service in more than 220 countries and data coverage in more than 200 countries, with more than 120 with 3G speeds. Powered by Android 2.2, DROID PRO is packed with features that meet both business and personal needs such as pre-loaded Quickoffice Mobile Suite, 3G Mobile HotSpot capabilities, and a QWERTY keyboard designed for speed and convenience. Verizon Wireless customers who purchase DROID PRO will receive the mail-in rebate in the form of a debit card; upon receipt, customers may use the card as cash anywhere debit cards are accepted. DROID PRO customers will need to subscribe to a Verizon Wireless Nationwide Talk plan (beginning at $39.99 monthly access) and a 3G Smartphone Plan.

Apple Joins Top Five Mobile Phone Vendors as Worldwide Market Grows Nearly 15% in Q3 (IDC)

2010-10-29T13:27:00.000-07:00

The worldwide mobile phone market grew 14.6% in the third quarter of 2010 (3Q10), the fourth consecutive quarter of double-digit growth, driven in part by the fast-growing converged mobile device category. According to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, vendors shipped 340.5 million units in 3Q10 compared to 297.1 million units in the third quarter of 2009. The growing popularity of converged mobile devices, or smartphones, with consumers and businesspersons is evidenced by the appearance of a second smartphone-only vendor in the top 5 ranking. Apple moved into the number 4 position worldwide in 3Q10, joining Research In Motion (RIM) as one of the world's largest mobile phone suppliers. RIM has spent three quarters on IDC's leaderboard. Apple and RIM also posted the highest-growth rates among the top 5 vendors last quarter.

"The entrance of Apple to the top 5 vendor ranking underscores the increased importance of smartphones to the overall market. Moreover, the mobile phone makers that are delivering popular smartphone models are among the fastest growing firms," said Kevin Restivo, senior research analyst with IDC's Worldwide Mobile Phone Tracker. "Vendors that aren't developing a strong portfolio of smartphones will be challenged to maintain and grow market share in the future." Apple, RIM, and the vendors producing Android-based smartphones have put noticeable pressure on Nokia, the overall market leader. "Nokia still leads all vendors by a significant margin for converged mobile devices and mobile phones as a whole," said Ramon Llamas, senior research analyst with IDC's Mobile Devices Technology and Trends team. "However, Nokia's grip on the traditional mobile phone market has been somewhat loosened, as multiple Chinese vendors have gained ground, especially within emerging markets. To bolster its overall competitiveness, Nokia has been focused on improving its smartphone offerings."

HTC Launches Five New Windows Phone 7 Smartphones

2010-10-29T13:04:00.000-07:00

HTC Corporation unveiled five new Windows Phone 7 smartphones: HTC 7 Surround, HTC 7 Mozart, HTC 7 Trophy, HTC 7 Pro and HTC HD7. This strong and diverse family of phones features Microsoft’s new Windows Phone 7 platform and embodies the stand-out design and innovation for which HTC has come to be known. Each new phone includes a variety of cutting-edge technologies and a series of unique HTC applications that can be accessed through the new HTC Hub that complements the Windows Phone 7 Hub and Tile experience.

“Windows Phone 7 is an entirely fresh mobile experience, on which HTC is excited to be going big. We see tremendous customer opportunities with the integration of Microsoft’s most popular services like Xbox LIVE and Zune,” said Peter Chou, CEO of HTC Corporation. “The value Microsoft is bringing to mobile customers around the world sets a new benchmark for the industry. HTC will be introducing five new HTC Windows Phone 7 smartphones at launch to support our customers with a broad variety of choice.”

“HTC has been a partner with Microsoft since we launched our first phones nearly a decade ago, and we couldn’t be more excited to continue this journey with the launch of Windows Phone 7,” said Andy Lees, President of the Mobile Communications Business at Microsoft. “Windows Phone 7 characterizes a new direction for Microsoft and its partners, and HTC is stepping up to support this in a significant way by bringing five new Windows Phones to market.”

Verizon Wireless Brings Kindle Experience To Android Smartphones

2010-10-13T15:14:00.000-07:00

Verizon Wireless and Amazon.com announced that the Kindle reading experience is now easily found on many Android devices running on the nation’s most reliable wireless network and will be available on more devices in the future. Kindle for Android lets customers discover and read more than 700,000 books in the Kindle Store and is easy to find on the application screen of the new Samsung Fascinate™ – which boasts a brilliant 4-inch Super AMOLED touch screen display – as well as on DROID™ 2 by Motorola and DROID X by Motorola. “We’re very excited to bring Kindle for Android directly to Verizon Wireless customers,” said Jennifer Byrne, executive director, business development and partnerships for Verizon Wireless. “Our smartphones come with great screens that make buying and reading books simple and easy, and Amazon’s commitment to reading and offering a seamless customer experience is directly in line with what our customers want.”

“Customers are already telling us they love Kindle for Android, and we think they are going to be excited to get their Verizon Wireless phones and other devices preloaded with the Kindle app,” said Dave Limp, vice president, Kindle. “We are thrilled to be working with such an innovative company as Verizon Wireless and are excited to have Kindle for Android on these three phones and on other devices down the road.”

Microsoft and Partners Unveil Windows Phone 7 Global Portfolio

2010-10-11T13:11:00.000-07:00

Microsoft Corp. today joined its partners in revealing nine new Windows Phone 7 handsets that will be available this holiday season from leading mobile operators in Europe, North America and Asia Pacific. With more than 60 mobile operators in over 30 countries worldwide committed to bringing Windows Phones to market, the millions of people around the world looking for a phone that plays as hard as it works will have a variety of phones from leading device-makers to choose from.

“We have a beautiful lineup in this first wave of Windows Phone 7 handsets,” said Steve Ballmer, chief executive officer at Microsoft. “Microsoft and its partners are delivering a different kind of mobile phone and experience — one that makes everyday tasks faster by getting more done in fewer steps and providing timely information in a ‘glance and go’ format.” Microsoft and its partners have worked together closely to create a different kind of phone with new experiences that bring together what people care about most. Windows Phone 7 will be available in a variety of sleek form factors from device-makers such as Dell, HTC Corp., LG and Samsung, and from mobile operators including América Móvil, AT&T, Deutsche Telekom AG, Movistar, O2, Orange, SFR, SingTel, Telstra, TELUS, T-Mobile USA and Vodafone. All Windows Phone 7 phones will include the high-performance Snapdragon™ processor from Qualcomm. A broad selection of phones will begin shipping in holiday 2010 with more arriving in 2011, including phones from Sprint and Verizon Wireless. In addition, select models will be available at Microsoft Store locations and from Amazon.

Cellular South To Offer Its Third Android™-Powered Smartphone - The HTC Desire™

2010-07-23T16:12:00.000-07:00

Cellular South released the Android™ 2.1 mobile operating system software update for its popular HTC Hero™ advanced touchscreen smartphone. Cellular South was one of the first U.S. carriers to introduce an Andriod™-powered smartphone with the launch of the HTC Hero last November. The device already has become the company’s most popular smartphone. “We’re excited about this new software update for HTC Hero owners,” said Kevin Hankins, chief operating officer for Cellular South. “The update is loaded with a wide array of enhancements, updates and improvements to features and applications that make it an even more powerful and versatile advanced touchscreen smartphone device.”Customers are receiving e-mails and other communication from Cellular South with download instructions for the new HTC Hero software update. With the enhancements and new features in the Android 2.1 software update, Hankins said customers can expect improved performance from their HTC Hero. “This is the most comprehensive software update for Android smartphones yet and we fully expect users to quickly embrace all of the new features and functionality offered through this upgrade,” he said.

Coupled with Cellular South’s Smartphone Unlimited Plan, the best value for smartphones and the only one of its kind in the wireless industry, the enhanced user experience with the HTC Hero is now more accessible to individuals, families and businesses than ever before. For only $59.98 a month per line for two lines, customers can talk, text, access the mobile web and e-mail without worrying about counting minutes, megabytes or surprise bills. “Customers are saving thousands of dollars a year with our Smartphone Unlimited Plan compared to other leading competitor plans,” Hankins said. “We have broken down the barriers to having full access to the richest and simplest wireless experience – our value proposition is unmatched in the industry today.” The device also takes full advantage of Cellular South’s advanced 3G high-speed mobile broadband data network, the best in the industry. With better coverage, fewer dropped calls and more 3G high-speed data services than its competitors, Cellular South offers the best mobile broadband experience in the wireless industry for smartphone customers. “Our customers know they are going to get the most out of their Android-powered device with our superior 3G network and unique mobile Discover Center accessibility,” Hankins said.

Apple to offer Free Cases to All iPhone 4 Users with Reception Problems

2010-07-16T11:44:00.000-07:00

Apple is just concluding its rarer press conference at company headquarters. Here is an excerpt from a CNN article:" After a presentation saying the iPhone 4's reception problems have been "blown way out of proportion," Apple CEO Steve Jobs said Friday that all owners will receive free cases to fix the issue. People who already paid for a case, which reduces interference, will get a refund, Jobs said. "We're not perfect; phones aren't perfect," Jobs said. "We want to make all our users happy." The iPhone 4 broke Apple sales records after its release on June 24, drawing positive reviews from tech bloggers and almost religious fervor from Apple fanatics who lined up for hours to get their hands on one. The smartphone has sold more than 3 million units, Jobs said Friday, and has been the most successful product launch in Apple history. He maintained that, despite the reception issue, the phone remains "our best product ever."

"It's not like Apple has had its head in the sand on this," Jobs said. "It's only been 22 days." But just hours after its release, reports of a problem with reception began surfacing. Analysts found that holding a certain spot on the metal band around the edge if the phone leads to interference, causing weakened reception and, sometimes, dropped calls. The band houses the phone's antenna, part of a design that made the sleek iPhone 4 about 25 percent thinner than its predecessors. Visit Apple's press room for complete details. Send your thoughts to us here at Smartphone Products and Trends

comScore Reports May 2010 U.S. Mobile Subscriber Market Share

2010-07-08T11:37:00.000-07:00

comScore, Inc. released data from the comScore MobiLens service, reporting key trends in the U.S. mobile phone industry during the three month average period ending May 2010 compared to the preceding three-month average. The report ranked the leading mobile original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and smartphone operating system (OS) platforms in the U.S. according to their share of current mobile subscribers age 13 and older, and reviewed the most popular activities and content accessed via the subscriber’s primary mobile phone. The May report found Samsung to be the top handset manufacturer overall with 22.4 percent market share, while RIM led among smartphone platforms with 41.7 percent market share. For the 3 month average period ending in May, 234 million Americans age 13 and older used mobile devices. Device manufacturer Samsung ranked as the top OEM with 22.4 percent of U.S. mobile subscribers, up one percentage point from the preceding three month period. LG ranked second with 21.5 percent share, followed by Motorola (21.2 percent share), RIM (8.7 percent share, up 0.5 percentage point) and Nokia (8.1 percent share).

Top Mobile OEMs 3 Month Avg. Ending May 2010 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending Feb. 2010 Total U.S. Age 13+ Source: comScore MobiLens
	Share (%) of Mobile Subscribers
	Feb-10	May-10	Point Change
Total Mobile Subscribers	100.0%	100.0%	N/A
Samsung	21.4%	22.4%	1.0
LG	21.7%	21.5%	-0.2
Motorola	22.3%	21.2%	-1.1
RIM	8.2%	8.7%	0.5
Nokia	8.7%	8.1%	-0.6

49.1 million people in the U.S. owned smartphones during the three months ending in May, up 8.1 percent from the corresponding February period. RIM was the leading mobile smartphone platform in the U.S. with 41.7 percent share of U.S. smartphone subscribers, followed by Apple with 24.4 percent share and Microsoft with 13.2 percent. Google saw significant growth during the period, up 4.0 percentage points to capture 13.0 percent of smartphone subscribers, while Palm rounded out the top five with 4.8 percent. Despite losing share to Google Android, most smartphone platforms continue to gain subscribers as the smartphone market overall continues to grow.

Top Smartphone Platforms 3 Month Avg. Ending May 2010 vs. 3 Month Avg. Ending Feb. 2010 Total U.S. Age 13+ Source: comScore MobiLens
	Share (%) of Smartphone Subscribers
	Feb-10	May-10	Point Change
Total Smartphone Subscribers	100.0%	100.0%	N/A
RIM	42.1%	41.7%	-0.4
Apple*	25.4%	24.4%	-1.0
Microsoft	15.1%	13.2%	-1.9
Google	9.0%	13.0%	4.0
Palm	5.4%	4.8%	-0.6

*May data does not include the impact of Apple’s launch of iPhone 4, which

became available in June.

Visa launches payclick micropayment service in Australia

2010-06-27T16:18:00.000-07:00

Visa launched payclick by Visa (www.payclick.com.au), a new way to pay online, that is ideal for downloadable content such as music, games and movies. payclick was developed by Visa and Australian consumers are the first to experience this innovative online payment service. A payclick account – which can be funded from any Visa, MasterCard or bank account – enables consumers to pay online without sharing personal details or financial information with sellers. Part of Visa’s global innovation strategy, payclick has been developed to respond to the needs of consumers and sellers of lower priced downloadable content. Analysis undertaken by Investment Trends indicates that there will be some $646 million of online micropayments (online payments under $20) in Australia during 2010 across the online gaming, music and micro retail sectors.

Chris Clark, General Manager Visa, Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific, said: “Visa has been making ecommerce payments as safe, reliable and convenient as possible since the advent of online shopping. With global ecommerce continuing to grow at more than 10 percent annually, payclick continues this evolution. We know consumers seek convenience, security and value when shopping online – and payclick offers a secure new way to pay.” Greg Storey, General Manager, payclick, said: “payclick is designed to meet growing consumer demand for digital content, such as music, games and movies. payclick accounts are suitable for the different needs of family members, including those under 18 years old. “We are providing a solution for sellers to monetise their content and services. We see payclick’s potential to expand their market reach and unlock new revenue streams. We are confident payclick’s benefits will inspire many more online sellers to explore how our system can help them connect with new customers.”

BBH Solutions Showcases BlackBerry Mobile Voice System in New York City

2010-06-27T16:10:00.000-07:00

BBH Solutions, Inc. held a special event on June 23rd to introduce BlackBerry Mobile Voice System 5.0 (BlackBerry® MVS) to New York area businesses. BlackBerry® MVS is designed to unify fixed and mobile voice communications to enable business users to use their regular desk phone number and extension from their BlackBerry® smartphone. Users benefit from one business phone number, one caller ID, one voice mailbox, and office phone features on their BlackBerry smartphones. The event, hosted by BBH Solutions and BlackBerry at SD26 restaurant in Manhattan, featured an informative presentation on the business benefits, architecture, security features, and policy controls of BlackBerry® MVS 5.0. The presentation was followed by a demonstration of the MVS 5.0 solution working in a live environment via a Cisco SRST Gateway connected back to BBH Solutions’ own Cisco Unified Communications Manager.

“BBH Solutions has enjoyed a great relationship with BlackBerry since 1999, when having the ability to send and receive email on a pager-sized device was a new concept,” said Bruce Hoernecke, President and CEO of BBH Solutions. “Now, with MVS 5.0, BlackBerry users can have secure access to office voice communication features from their smartphones, anytime and anywhere.” BlackBerry® MVS 5.0, which is optimized for Cisco Unified Communications Manager 6.1 and later, leverages Voice over Wi-Fi® technology to save on mobility costs and improve productivity. Features include the ability to ring up to four devices simultaneously, extension dialing from BlackBerry smartphones, and the ability to move calls between Wi-Fi and mobile networks.

DROID X By Motorola Lands On The Nation’s Largest & Most Reliable 3G Network

2010-06-23T13:09:00.000-07:00

Verizon Wireless unveiled DROID X by Motorola. DROID X does more with ultra high-speed Web browsing; a fast 1GHz processor; 3G Mobile HotSpot capabilities; loads of memory; intuitive social messaging; Adobe® Flash® Player 10.1 ready; and access to Android Market™, which has more than 65,000 applications, along with a host of unique Verizon Wireless applications such as NFL Mobile, Skype mobile™, V CAST Video, EA Need for Speed Shift™ and more.

“Nine months ago, we made a commitment to our customers to bring the openness of Android to the Verizon Wireless network,” said John Stratton, executive vice president and chief marketing officer for Verizon Wireless. “Since then, we have introduced the top-selling Android phone in the marketplace today – the DROID by Motorola. DROID X takes that commitment to another level with exclusive content, faster processing speeds, and, of course, the reliability of our network.” Sanjay Jha, co-chief executive officer of Motorola and chief executive officer of Motorola Mobile Devices and Home business added, “Motorola designed DROID X to push the extreme limits of Android innovation, and enable you to do even more with your mobile device. We are breaking down barriers so that you can experience the Web the way it was meant to be and create, share and view content like never before, either in your hand or in your home. Enterprise users will also find DROID X appealing with features including push e-mail and live widgets for e-mail and calendar updates.” Visit Verizon's press room for release details

iPhone Reality in Europe: Low Overall Penetration, Enormous Impact

2010-06-23T12:41:00.000-07:00

comScore, Inc. outlined the impact the first three generations of Apple’s iPhone have had on the European mobile market, in light of record pre-sales and extraordinary consumer demand for the iPhone 4, which launches tomorrow. The iPhone currently represents just 4 percent of the EU5 (U.K., France, Germany, Spain, Italy) mobile market, but 18 percent of the overall EU5 smartphone market. However, the iPhone has facilitated fundamental change in mobile user behaviour and ignited fierce competition among device and operating system (OS) providers. iPhone owners are the most voracious consumers of mobile media: 94 percent use mobile media, 87 percent use applications and 85 percent browse the mobile internet. With just 4 percent share of the European market, iPhone users represent 12 percent of all mobile media users.

Mobile Media Usage Among European Smartphone Owners by OS Vendor 3 Month Average Ending April 2010 Total EU5 (UK, DE, FR, ES and IT), Age 13+ Source: comScore MobiLens
	Share of Smartphone Owners Engaging in Activity
	Total Smartphone	Symbian	Apple	Microsoft	RIM	Google
Smartphone Marketshare	100%	58%	18%	13%	8%	3%

Mobile Media Usage
Mobile Media (Browsing, Apps, Downloading)	65%	52%	94%	68%	81%	89%
Web Browsing	53%	39%	85%	56%	66%	83%
App Usage	53%	38%	87%	55%	72%	78%

“The iPhone 4 is set to have a huge impact globally with pre-order handsets selling out and retailing websites buckling under the pressure,” said Jeremy Copp, Vice President Mobile Europe, comScore. “To date the iPhone has had a disproportionate impact on the European mobile market considering its relatively modest installed base of around 10 million. It has catalysed the consumption of mobile media and opened the eyes of brands to mobile as an engaging marketing medium. However, it has also prompted other device manufacturers and OS vendors to elevate their game so the poster-child of the smartphone generation now faces serious competition.” The European smartphone market is growing 38 percent year-on-year, but the most recent year has seen some significant developments. In the last 12 months, although the dominant OS, Symbian, gained device owners, market momentum has now moved to the North American operating systems of RIM, Apple and Google, each of which has grown by substantial percentage over the past year.

AT&T Temporarily Suspends iPhone 4 Pre-Orders as Demand Soars

2010-06-16T14:06:00.000-07:00

iPhone 4 pre-order sales yesterday were 10-times higher than the first day of pre-ordering for the iPhone 3G S last year. Consumers are clearly excited about iPhone 4, AT&T's more affordable data plans and our early upgrade pricing. Given this unprecedented demand and our current expectations for our iPhone 4 inventory levels when the device is available June 24, we're suspending pre-ordering today in order to fulfill the orders we've already received The availability of additional inventory will determine if we can resume taking pre-orders. In addition to unprecedented pre-order sales, yesterday there were more than 13 million visits to AT&T's website where customers can check to see if they are eligible to upgrade to a new phone; that number is about 3-times higher than the previous record for eligibility upgrade checks in one day. Check AT&T's iPhone 4 portal for updated ordering details

Apple Announces iPhone 4 with FaceTime Video Calling, Retina Display & HD Video Recording

2010-06-07T12:18:00.000-07:00

Apple® presented the new iPhone® 4 featuring FaceTime, which makes the dream of video calling a reality, and Apple’s stunning new Retina display, the highest resolution display ever built into a phone, resulting in super crisp text, images and video. In addition, iPhone 4 features a 5 megapixel camera with LED flash, HD video recording, Apple’s A4 processor, a 3-axis gyro and up to 40 percent longer talk time—in a beautiful all-new design of glass and stainless steel that is the thinnest smartphone in the world. iPhone 4 comes with iOS 4, the newest version of the world’s most advanced mobile operating system, which includes over 100 new features and 1500 new APIs for developers. iOS 4 features Multitasking, Folders, enhanced Mail, deeper Enterprise support and Apple’s new iAd mobile advertising platform. iPhone 4 will be available in the US, UK, France, Germany and Japan on June 24, starting in the US at just $199 for qualified buyers with a two year contract.*

“iPhone 4 is the biggest leap since the original iPhone,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “FaceTime video calling sets a new standard for mobile communication, and our new Retina display is the highest resolution display ever in a phone, with text looking like it does on a fine printed page. We have been dreaming about both of these breakthroughs for decades.” FaceTime is as mobile as your phone, so you can see your loved ones and friends anywhere there is Wi-Fi. Using FaceTime is as easy as making a regular voice call, with no set-up required, and you can instantly switch to the rear camera to show others what you are seeing with just a tap. Visit Apple's press room for complete details. Will these new features enable Apple to expand its smartphone leadership position over Google, RIM and Palm? Send your thoughts to us at the Smartphone Product and Service Forum

Average Subsidized Smartphone Price from US Operators Rises to $117.08 in April

2010-05-29T13:36:00.000-07:00

ABI Research found the average subsidized April smartphone price from retailers (not mobile operators but nonetheless offering phone with service plans) to be $43.64. In contrast, the subsidized average price available from operators (the big “top four” plus three Tier Two operators) was $117.08. The price differential between the largest four operators is about 18%. “The wide variation in smartphone pricing illustrates how difficult it is for handset vendors to price their new products competitively, especially because prices change over time,” says ABI Research senior analyst Michael Morgan. “One of the most important factors determining average prices is the number of handset models of a particular type on the market at any given time. In April we saw the introduction of some high-end devices that lifted the average price.” Read the abstract or order this report via the ABI Research portal

Geos Communications and Agito Networks MyGlobalTalk™ Rove

2010-05-19T12:44:00.000-07:00

Geos Communications™ is launching MyGlobalTalk™ Rove (Roam Often…Virtually Everywhere), a unique smartphone application which virtually eliminates roaming charges from wireless carriers for the international traveler. MyGlobalTalk Rove integrates Geos’ popular voice over IP (VoIP) application, MyGlobalTalk, with Agito Networks’ award-winning enterprise mobility technology on top-selling smartphones, including BlackBerry® and iPhone®. As a result, customers can make calls over Wi-Fi or 3G networks without incurring roaming charges, and can substantially reduce their per minute costs by using the MyGlobalTalk network.

“After evaluating leading solutions for UC, we believe that Agito Networks and MyGlobalTalk can deliver the features that will enable our business customers to increase productivity, reduce expenses and help them become more globally competitive.” The MyGlobalTalk Rove product is a result of a mutual marketing and distribution agreement between Geos and Agito Networks, Inc., an award-winning technology leader in the enterprise mobility space. Under terms of the agreement, Geos is offering a customized version of Agito Networks’ RoamAnywhere™ Mobility Router™ and smartphone client to its enterprise and small-to-medium business (SMB) customers. In addition, Agito Networks has the right to distribute the Geos MyGlobalTalk service to its customers.

Powered by Agito Networks, MyGlobalTalk Rove also allows the extension of a business’ PBX phone capabilities and integrated messaging (IM) and presence to a mobile device, with seamless handoffs between Wi-Fi, 3G and cellular networks. With MyGlobalTalk Rove, the user gets the ultimate in convenience: one phone number or extension can now reach any employee anywhere in the world, and the user has only one voicemail to check. Wi-Fi and 3G calling capabilities reduce cellular minutes and roaming charges. Calls can be seamlessly transferred from Wi-Fi to mobile networks and back, so callers can move freely from an office, hotel or coffee shop hotspot to their mobile network without any interruption in service. And because the application is integrated with MyGlobalTalk service, international calls cost much less than those going through traditional mobile carriers.

Sprint to launch HTC EVOTM 4G smartphone on June 4

2010-05-13T15:43:00.000-07:00

Sprint will launch its first 4G phone, HTC EVOTM 4G, debuts on June 4 including access to mobile video chat, simultaneous voice and data and HD video capture. HTC EVO supports industry leading features including Simultaneous Voice and Data while in 4G coverage and new Mobile Video Chat, the two-way voice and video service from Qik. The large vibrant 4.3 inch display, built-in kickstand, 3.5 mm headset jack and HDMI output make HTC EVO 4G an unparalleled platform for wireless entertainment. Download music, pictures, files, or videos in seconds – not minutes – and watch streaming video on the go on a network with download speeds that are up to 10 times faster than 3G speeds.1 With built-in mobile hotspot functionality, HTC EVO 4G also allows up to eight Wi-Fi-enabled devices, including laptop, camera, music player, video player and any other Wi-Fi-enabled device, to enjoy the benefits of 3G/4G speeds on the go. Visit Sprint's product portal for feature and performance details

T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide Improves Communication through Android-based Software

2010-05-12T16:19:00.000-07:00

T-Mobile USA announced a new addition to its exclusive line of Android™-powered T-Mobile myTouch® 3G smartphones — the T-Mobile® myTouch 3G Slide™. Anticipated to be available in June, the new myTouch 3G Slide combines a roomy slide-out QWERTY keyboard with an incredibly crisp, high-performance touch screen powered by the latest Android software. The T-Mobile myTouch 3G Slide is purpose-built for communication, with unique new features that help customers connect more easily, more quickly and more often to their closest family and friends.

“Many smartphones are increasingly powerful in their features and specifications without continuing to improve the main reason that so many people have mobile phones — the ability to communicate with each other,” said Andrew Sherrard, vice president of product development, T-Mobile USA. “The new myTouch 3G Slide is a smart and sleek phone that fits into your pocket, your budget and your family life with exclusive T-Mobile features that put communication with your closest family and friends front and center.” Visit T-Mobile's press room for complete details

Android Shakes Up U.S. Smartphone Market

2010-05-11T13:12:00.000-07:00

The Android operating system (OS) continued to shake up the U.S. mobile phone market in the first quarter (Q1) of 2010, moving past Apple to take the number-two position among smartphone operating systems, according to The NPD Group, a leading market research company. NPD’s wireless market research reveals that based on unit sales to consumers last quarter the Android operating system moved into second position at 28 percent behind RIM’s OS (36 percent) and ahead of Apple’s OS (21 percent).

“As in the past, carrier distribution and promotion have played a crucial role in determining smartphone market share,” said Ross Rubin, executive director of industry analysis for NPD. “In order to compete with the iPhone, Verizon Wireless has expanded its buy-one-get-one offer beyond RIM devices to now include all of their smartphones.” Strong sales of the Droid, Droid Eris, and Blackberry Curve via these promotions helped keep Verizon Wireless’s smartphone sales on par with AT&T in Q1. According to NPD’s Mobile Phone Track, smartphone sales at AT&T comprised nearly a third of the entire smartphone market (32 percent), followed by Verizon Wireless (30 percent), T-Mobile (17 percent) and Sprint (15 percent).

“Recent previews of BlackBerry 6, the recently announced acquisition of Palm by HP, and the pending release of Windows Phone 7 demonstrates the industry’s willingness to make investments to address consumer demand for smartphones and other mobile devices,” Rubin said. “Carriers continue to offer attractive pricing for devices, but will need to present other data-plan options to attract more customers in the future.” The continued popularity of messaging phones and smartphones resulted in slightly higher prices for all mobile phones, despite an overall drop in the number of mobile phones purchased in the first quarter. The average selling price for all mobile phones in Q1 reached $88, which is a 5 percent increase from Q1 2009. Smartphone unit prices, by comparison, averaged $151 in Q1 2010, which is a 3 percent decrease over the previous year.

Worldwide Smartphone Market Grows 56.7% Year Over Year in First Quarter of 2010 (IDC)

2010-05-10T16:15:00.000-07:00

Growth of the worldwide converged mobile device market (commonly referred to as smartphones) more than doubled that of the overall mobile phone market in the first quarter, a sign the segment is in high-growth mode again. According to the International Data Corporation (IDC) Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker, vendors shipped a total of 54.7 million units in the first quarter of 2010 (1Q10), up 56.7% from the same quarter a year ago. In contrast, the overall mobile phone market grew 21.7%. Converged mobile devices accounted for 18.8% of all mobile phones shipped in 1Q10, up slightly from 14.4% in 1Q09.

"2010 looks to be another year of large-scale consumer adoption of converged mobile devices," says Ramon Llamas, senior research analyst with IDC’s Mobile Devices Technology and Trends team. "Consumers will gravitate to smartphones not just because the devices themselves look 'cool' and 'slick', but because the overall experience aligns with their individual tastes and demands. Users are seeking – and finding – experiences that are intuitive, seamless, and fun. Already, we've seen what Palm's webOS and Google's Android can do. This year, we expect updates for BlackBerry, Symbian, and Windows Mobile to spark greater smartphone demand with their offerings."The smartphone market's growth is impressive too when contrasted to the 38% growth in the fourth quarter, which is typically the strongest of the year. This demonstrates the tremendous potential of the market and the depths to which it plunged in the first quarter of last year.

Mimecast Launches First Always-On Continuity Service for BlackBerry Smartphone Users

2010-05-03T15:38:00.000-07:00

Mimecast® has launched of Mimecast Continuity Services^TM for the BlackBerry® Wireless Solution. The new service is the first to enable enterprise IT managers to provide uninterrupted email access to BlackBerry smartphone users in the event of a Microsoft Exchange outage, a BlackBerry Enterprise Server failure and Research in Motion infrastructure downtime. Until now, businesses have been limited in their range of continuity choices for the BlackBerry solution, relying on SaaS services that require the availability of BlackBerry Enterprise Server or server replication solutions.

By bypassing the BlackBerry Enterprise Server and communicating directly with the handset from the cloud, Mimecast’s Continuity Service ensures that critical mobile workers can remain connected; sending, receiving and deleting mail as normal, during server downtime. Whether operating in standard or continuity mode, complete integration between Mimecast’s security, continuity and archiving service elements ensures continuous and consistent enforcement of email security, data loss prevention and archiving policies at all times, supporting businesses’ compliance and security needs. Peter Bauer, founder and CEO of Mimecast, said: “Our own research recently revealed that just 36 percent of UK companies had a proper email continuity strategy, despite 97 percent of written business communication being over email. With the BlackBerry solution established in an ever growing number of IT departments, extending business critical email continuity to BlackBerry devices has become an essential requirement.”

Microsoft Launches KIN, a New Windows "Social" Phone

2010-04-12T13:27:00.000-07:00

Microsoft Corp. today announced KIN, a new Windows®Phone designed specifically for people who are actively navigating their social lives. Brought to life through partnerships with Verizon Wireless, Vodafone and Sharp Corporation, KIN is designed to be the ultimate social experience that blends the phone, online services and the PC with breakthrough new experiences called the Loop, Spot and Studio. KIN will be exclusively available from Verizon Wireless in the U.S. beginning in May and from Vodafone this autumn in Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom.

“Working closely with our partners, we saw an opportunity to design a mobile experience just for this social generation — a phone that makes it easy to share your life moment to moment,” said Robbie Bach, president of the Entertainment and Devices Division at Microsoft. “We built KIN for people who live to be connected, share, express and relate to their friends and family. This social generation wants and needs more from their phone. KIN is the one place to get the stuff you care about to the people you care about most.”

Social networking is built into the fabric of the phone. KIN has a fun, simple interface, which is designed to help people publish the magazine of their life by making the people and stuff they love the focus rather than menus and icons. The unique hardware design was developed in partnership with Sharp to create a new kind of social phone. There are two models called KIN ONE and KIN TWO. Both phones feature a touch screen and slide-out keyboard. ONE is small and compact, making it a perfect fit for a pocket and to operate with one hand. TWO has a larger screen and keyboard, in addition to more memory, a higher resolution camera, and the ability to record high-definition video. The 5 and 8 megapixel cameras in ONE and TWO, respectively, are designed for use in low light with image stabilization and a bright LumiLED flash.

Apple Unveils iPhone OS 4 ... with long-awaited multitasking

2010-04-08T15:26:00.000-07:00

Given today's announcement do you believe that the iPhone's new multitasking capabilities will enable it to be the smartphone market leader, or this this functionality too little, too late? Send your thoughts to the Smartphone Product and Service Forum. In the meantime, here is an excerpt form Apple press release." Apple® today previewed its iPhone® OS 4 software and released a beta version of the software to iPhone Developer Program members. The iPhone OS 4 beta release includes an updated Software Development Kit (SDK) with over 1,500 new Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) and over 100 new features that will be available to iPhone and iPod touch® users this summer. New features include Multitasking for third party apps; Folders to better organize and access apps; improved Mail with a unified inbox, fast inbox switching and threaded messages; enhanced Enterprise support with even better data protection, mobile device management, wireless app distribution and more; Apple’s new iAd mobile advertising platform; and iBooks, the delightful new ebook reader and online bookstore recently debuted on the iPad™.

“iPhone OS 4 is the fourth major release of the world’s most advanced mobile operating system,” said Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO. “We’re delivering over 100 new features, including multitasking, folders, a unified inbox, deeper Enterprise support, and an iPhone version of our iBooks reader and online iBookstore.”

iPhone OS 4’s new multitasking offers users a new way to quickly move between apps, and provides developers seven new multitasking services to easily add multitasking features to their apps. These services include background audio, so apps like Pandora can play music in the background, and VoIP, so VoIP apps can receive a VoIP call even when the iPhone is asleep or the user is running other apps. iPhone OS 4 provides multitasking to third party apps while preserving battery life and foreground app performance, which has until now proved elusive on mobile devices. Folders help users better organize and quickly access their apps. Simply drag one app icon onto another, and a new folder is automatically created. The folder is automatically given a name based on the App Store category of that app, such as “Games,” which the user can easily rename. Using folders, users can now organize and access over 2,000 apps on their iPhone. Users can also create and manage iPhone folders on their Mac® or PC using iTunes® 9.2.

UK Leads European Countries in Smartphone Adoption with 70% Growth in Past 12 Months

2010-03-31T14:56:00.000-07:00

comScore, Inc. has released a study of the smartphone market in Europe showing that smartphone adoption in the EU5 (U.K., France, Germany, Spain, Italy) has grown 32 percent versus a year ago to 51.6 million subscribers. Whilst growth can be seen across the range of monthly subscription fees, the mid to low tier is growing faster than high tier subscriptions in each of the EU5 markets. The U.K. market strongly leads in growth of smartphone adoption over the past year, growing 70 percent to more than 11 million subscribers. France ranks second in growth with the number of smartphone subscribers up 48 percent to 7 million. Meanwhile, Italy boasts the largest number of smartphone subscribers overall (15 million) but showed the softest growth in this market at 11 percent.

Smartphone Subscribers 3 Month Average Ending Jan. 2010 vs. 3 Month Average Ending Jan. 2009 Total EU5 (UK, DE, FR, ES and IT), Age 13+ Source: comScore MobiLens
	Smartphone Subscribers (000)
	Jan-09	Jan-10	% Change
EU5	38,994	51,623	32%
U.K.	6,525	11,109	70%
France	4,842	7,140	48%
Germany	6,309	8,429	34%
Spain	7,809	9,907	27%
Italy	13,510	15,037	11%

In evaluating monthly subscription fees, the high tier (greater than £35 in U.K. and €50 in Euro currency countries) is not growing as strongly as the mid to low tier. The U.K. has the highest pace of both mid to low tier adoption (up 76 percent) and high-tier adoption (up 60 percent), followed by France (52 percent and 43 percent, respectively).

Smartphone Growth by Payment Tier*3 Month Average Ending Jan. 2010 vs. 3 Month Average Ending Jan. 2009Total EU5 (UK, DE, FR, ES and IT), Age 13+ Source: comScore MobiLens
	Smartphone Subscribers (000)
	Mid to Low Tier			High Tier
	Jan-2009	Jan-2010	% Change	Jan-2009	Jan-2010	% Change
U.K.	3,826	6,745	76%	2,515	4,037	60%
France	3,087	4,695	52%	1,600	2,280	43%
Germany	4,314	6,077	41%	1,876	2,206	18%
Spain	4,462	6,257	40%	3,200	3,475	9%
Italy	9,839	11,259	14%	3,039	3,159	4%

* High Tier pricing model includes Smartphones with monthly subscription fee of over £35 in UK and over €50 in France, Germany, Spain and Italy. Some respondents do not disclose tariff information

“Smartphones are generally seen as luxury devices that come with big price tags and high monthly tariffs, yet the largest segment of the market and the one demonstrating greatest momentum is actually the low to mid tier,” says Alistair Hill, senior mobile analyst at comScore. “The growth in these tiers suggests that as smartphones become more affordable to the majority of European consumers, their proliferation will increase considerably and lead to a surge in mobile content and data consumption. Such market dynamics offer substantial opportunity for different players in the mobile ecosystem -- from operators and manufacturers to publishers and advertisers --- and underscore the importance of competing for customers now to engender long-term loyalty.” Visit comScore's press room for complete research findings

Samsung Mobile Over 7m US Students with Mobile Phone Recycling Program

2010-03-30T17:04:00.000-07:00

Samsung Mobile is launching a nationwide in-school education and recycling program as part of its March to a Million pledge to collect one million mobile phones for recycling in 2010. Reaching an estimated seven million middle and high school students in approximately 9,500 schools across the U.S., the eco-focused program will educate teens about the importance and ease of mobile phone recycling.

Students will learn about the importance of mobile phone recycling and the impact that it can have, both environmentally and socially, and participate in activities that will allow them to educate their peers, parents and local communities. Each participating school has the opportunity to enter a sweepstakes to win either a VIP concert from the pop/rock band, Hey Monday, or one of fifty $1,000 “Green Grants” to put towards making their school more environmentally friendly. The winner of the VIP concert will be announced in June.“Samsung Mobile has numerous eco-friendly initiatives in place, including our Mobile Take-Back program and last year’s launch of the Samsung Reclaim, the first phone in the U.S. constructed from eco-friendly bio-plastic materials,” said Paul Golden, Chief Marketing Officer of Samsung Mobile. “The March to a Million program is taking our green initiatives one step further to educate consumers on the importance and ease of recycling mobile phones. The goal of the in-school program is to reach an influential demographic and one that we think will help us spread the word throughout their communities.” Visit the March to a Million portal for complete campaign details