iOS have lost some of their market share to their Google Inc Android counterpart, and Microsoft Corporation Windows based phone performed well in the first quarter, to overtake BlackBerry for third place in Q1 2013.

IDC noted that Apple and Android  shipments combined increased year over year approximately 59.1% with a total of 199.5 million units shipped worldwide during Q1. That’s up from just 125.4 million a year ago. Apple is clearly a large driver of the growth with the report pointing out that iPhone had its “largest ever first quarter volume.” However, despite that, Apple also saw a decline among usage of iOS compared to growth of the industry as a whole, allowing Android to keep its top spot by OS and Samsung to remain number 1 by OEM.

According to IDC it accounted for 17.3% of the market in Q1 compared to 75% for Android. Of course this is likely taking shipments (not sales) into account and also doesn’t represent tablet usage that we know iOS continues to dominate.

Windows Phone earned the largest year-over-year gain among the leading OSes, and beat out BlackBerry for the third spot. The Microsoft platform grabbed 3.2 percent of the market, up from 2 percent in the year-ago quarter, according to IDC. Much of Windows Phone’s increase can be attributed to Nokia, which accounted for 79 percent of all Windows Phone shipments during the quarter.

Meanwhile, No. 4 BlackBerry’s share dropped to 2.9 percent from 6.4 percent a year ago. But this decline “masks the progress that the company has made since then,” IDC said. In its first quarter of availability, BlackBerry shipped more than a million units running its new BB10 platform, which IDC called a “significant breakthrough” for the Canadian phone maker.

Source: IDC

Nitesh

Sony has announced that the Gran Turismo 6 is in development for the PlayStation 3 with a targeted released window of ‘Holiday 2013′.

In a press release distributed today, Sony promised that the new title will bring “new levels of authenticity” to the scrupulously authentic racer. New cars and tracks are promised as well as a new interface and a ‘compact engine’ that will, “improve operation and increase the flexibility to expand it with downloadable content”. The announcement also promises greater integration with smartphones and tablets as well as improved social and community features.

According to IGN, Yamauchi hinted at an eventual PS4 version saying,  “We actually do have a PlayStation 4 version in mind, but for this holiday season, we thought it would be best for users to release on PS3 for now. I thought the best scenario would be to have the game come out, then to have new scenarios, new DLC and other updates. Once the players have thoroughly played out the system, if the PlayStation 4 version came out naturally, as part of that process, I think that would be the best scenario.” Unfortunately he wouldn’t go into any details about when the next-gen version would release.

Source: Sony

Via: IGN

Tushant Verma

At the Google I/O 2013, Google announced that Google+ would be getting 42 new features that affect the Stream, Hangouts and Photos sections.

Most of the features are designed to improve the overall user experience and include:

• new hangout applications that let you save each conversation as a history and sync notifications across devices so you can dismiss a notification on one device and have it disappear on another. Available on web, iOS and Android today
• Improved photo sharing and processing that automatically enhances your images on the fly
• newly designed news stream that features a completely overhauled desktop UI with a multi-column design
• Photos and videos that span multiple columns
• animations to improve experience
• related hash tags that’ll analyze the content of a post and apply appropriate hash tag. Each hash tag is clickable and will bring up related content. Optional for users to enable.

Google hopes these new features and adjustments will de-fragment the Google+ Hangouts experience across devices. The company says the changes are arriving on the Web, and as free, standalone apps headed to Android and iOS.

Source: Google

Tushant Verma

Sony launched a new software update for the Sony Xperia Z firmware version 10.1.1.A.1.253.

Sony Xperia Z users should experience noticeable improvements to performance including visual enhancements to navigation bars and the ability to better control white balance. The imaging algorithm has also been given a lick of the paintbrush to further enhance the quality of the Xperia Z’s camera.

The update is available over the air and its version number is 10.1.1.A.1.253. Update list

• There will be an option to disable the notification light (along with a few other things).
• The soft keys and navigation bar will be changed from gray to black.
• The Xperia Launcher should now run smoother, with less delay.
• When in stamina mode, LED notifications will also be shown.
• A tool to calibrate the white balance display
• The camera should start up faster.
• LED will pulse instead of blink.
• Performance improvements

This new software update for the Sony Xperia Z (C6603) is available over-the-air (OTA) and as is often the case with these updates the rollout will come in phases. Therefore if you don’t receive notification straight away you may need to be a little patient. We’d really appreciate hearing from readers on this if you have an Xperia Z.

Source: Sony Talk

Nitesh

At the Google I/O 2013, Google announced Google Play game services aims to integrate gaming across Android, iOS and the web.

Any developer launching a game on the Google Play store has access to game services, though Google isn’t making it an obligation. “We won’t make it a mandatory exercise, or have any certification process around it,” Google lead product manager Greg Hartrell told us. “We create fantastic services that allow developers to create these great game experiences, and help promote their discovery, help retain their users and keep them engaged.”

With game services, you can incorporate:

• Achievements that increase engagement and promote different styles of play.
• Social and public leaderboards that seamlessly use Google+ circles to track high scores across friends and across the world.
• Cloud saves that provide a simple and streamlined storage API to store game saves and settings. Now players never have to replay Level 1 again.
• Real-time multiplayer for easy addition of cooperative or competitive game play on Android devices. Using Google+ Circles, a game can have up to 4 simultaneous friends or auto-matched players in a game session together with support for additional players coming soon.

The Google Play Game Services is live as of today, and you can grab the SDK from Google’s developer portal right now. It’s a service that gets baked right into each game, not a separate standalone experience like Apple’s Game Center, and is more akin to something like the now defunct OpenFeint. You’ll use Google+ to log into the service and your profile will be kept in the cloud so you can just sign on and access everything no matter which device you’re using.

Source: Google

Tushant Verma

At the Google I/O 2013, Google announced that it would release its own variant of the previously unveiled Samsung Galaxy S4 smartphone.

Google will be selling the phone bootloader and SIM unlocked on Google Play Store at a price of $649 (Rs. 35,500 approximately) before taxes and shipping starting June 26. Since the phone is SIM unlocked, it should work on GSM operators across the globe. Bootloader unlocked means the users are free to install any custom Android ROM on the phone, or, theoretically at least, any other OS on their phone altogether.

Since the Galaxy S4 Google Edition is running stock Android, the firm promised it would “receive system updates promptly” in a similar way to its Nexus smartphones and tablets.

The smartphone comes in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB variants but will also feature a microSD card slot for expanding the memory. The Galaxy S4 sports a 13-megapixels rear shooter and a 2-megapixel one on the front.

This unlocked GS4 version will be available starting June 26 and will work on AT&T and T-Mobile networks. It can be purchased directly from the Google Play Store.

Source: Google

Nitesh

At the Google I/O 2013, Google proudly announced over 900 million Android activations.

The company also says that it has crossed 48 billion app downloads and that Google has paid out more to developers this year than it did last year. Currently, Android is seeing 2.5 billion app installs per month.

It’s a major number, but it’s rather understandable given the software’s ubiquity in the smartphone world. Major players in the hardware industry, though dabbling in other software options, are more reliably turning to Android to provide the magic within their phones. And the increasing popularity of those products, like Samsung’s current fleet, make Android’s big boom a no-brainer. Right now, it’s safe to say that when it comes to the sheer volume of high-quality phones, Android has everyone beat.

Via: Google

Tushant Verma

Google Play Store has just started rolling out version 4.1.6, which includes a new home page, new Wishlist and app page buttons arranged a little differently.

Google has also made a small tweak to wishlists on phones, which now use the same visual style as the tablet version. Before this update, the phone version appeared as a less functional list.

The update and uninstall buttons for apps have been adjusted too, with more space added between the two. This should save users from accidentally clicking the wrong button, which is a small, but welcome change.

Also there’s an option for “App Sync Data” has been added. Google is likely to give more detail about this at the conference today, but it might mean that app data and game saves can now be saved to the cloud.

The update should be rolling out sometime this morning, so check your devices for updates.

SOURCE: Android Police

Nitesh

Sony Officially announced the Sony Xperia A for NTT DoCoMo event. It packs a gorgeous 4.6-inch 720p HD display along with waterproof and dustproof capabilities.

The phone has a 4.6-inches HD reality display sporting a resolution of 720×1280 pixels. Powered by a 1.5GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 quad-core processor, the Xperia A has 2GB of RAM and internal storage of 32GB expandable up to 64GB via microSD card. The Xperia ZR on the other hand offers internal storage of 8GB.

The Xperia A sports a 13-megapixel fast-capture camera with Exmor RS with auto-focus and a VGA front facing camera. It has a dedicated hardware button for the camera, and allows using it even when the screen is locked. The phone also sports an Infrared blaster and comes with NFC functionality. It has a 2300 mAh battery.

The phone will be available starting May 17 in Black, White, Pink and Mint colour variants in Japan.

Source: Sony

Tushant Verma

BlackBerry has started rolling out the BlackBerry OS version 10.1 update for the BlackBerry Z10 smartphone.

BlackBerry OS 10.1 offers HDR camera, improved apps, Instant Action, battery improvements and much more.

HIGHLIGHTS OF BLACKBERRY 10.1

BlackBerry Hub manages all of your conversations

BlackBerry Hub helps you stay organized, in control and on top of all of your conversations, and with BlackBerry 10.1, it just keeps getting better. You can now view emails that are attached to another email, get contact suggestions when you start addressing a message, and send PIN to PIN messages for direct communication between BlackBerry smartphones.

Personalize your Notifications

BlackBerry 10.1 allows you to set up personalized notifications for your contacts and accounts. Customize ringtones, vibrations and the LED light for calls or message from each of your friends, family or colleagues. You can also set up a different notification for different accounts (such as for different email accounts, Facebook, Twitter, etc.)

Click to call

You can now click on a phone number in an email or BBM message to call the number or copy and paste it right onto the dialer screen in the phone app.

Better cursor control

BlackBerry 10.1 offers better cursor control making it easier to accurately place the cursor and select text. Just tap once to bring up the cursor control, grab the blue circle and drag it around to the insertion point that you want. Improved visual feedback lets you know where you’re pointing. You can also tap either side of the circle to move forward or backward one character at a time.

Improved picture capturing

BlackBerry 10.1 adds an HDR (high dynamic range) shooting mode for taking beautiful images in tricky lighting conditions. High Dynamic Range (HDR) mode takes multiple pictures at different exposure levels and layers them automatically to produce a single photo that combines the best of the dark and light areas. It also includes improved red eye and golden eye reduction in the picture editor.

More to discover with BlackBerry 10.1

You’ll find a number of new enhancements across the BlackBerry 10 OS like landscape support for the calendar, easier international dialing and so much more. The first step to discovering these new features on your BlackBerry Z10 smartphone is to update your BlackBerry 10 software.

Updating is easy

Updating to BlackBerry 10.1 is free and easy to do. To update your BlackBerry Z10 smartphone to BlackBerry 10.1 look for the alert in the notifications section of the BlackBerry Hub. You can also check for software updates through the software updates section in the Settings menu or through the BlackBerry Link desktop software. The download will happen in the background and the update will be applied without needing to back up your smartphone. All of your information remains safe. For more information on how to update your BlackBerry Z10 smartphone, visit www.BlackBerry.com/update.

Nitesh

BlackBerry has just announced the BlackBerry Q5, a new handset designed to bring the BlackBerry 10 experience to the budget end of the market complete with a Qwerty keyboard.

Highlights and features of the BlackBerry Q5

• The evolution of the classic BlackBerry Keyboard:
  The BlackBerry Q5 features a classic BlackBerry Keyboard with discrete keys that has been re-engineered and elegantly designed to help you type fast, accurately and with the least amount of effort. Plus with Instant Action shortcuts you can type to perform tasks faster. The BlackBerry Q5 smartphone gives you the best of both worlds – a classic QWERTY keyboard for optimized communications and a 3.1” touchscreen for all the rest.
• Create the perfect shot with BlackBerry Time Shift mode and Story Maker 
  Create the picture perfect shot with BlackBerry Time Shift mode, then create and share your story, weaving together your photos, videos and music into a movie with BlackBerry Story Maker.
• Share and be seen with BBM Video with Screen Share 
  Instantly switch your BBM (BlackBerry Messenger) chat to a BBM Video conversation and catch up face-to-face. You can even share your screen, whether it’s a photo, a page in the browser, an idea, or a view from your camera.

• Stay close to what’s important to you with BlackBerry Hub 
  With BlackBerry Hub, all of your messages and social conversations are only one swipe away. There’s no need to stop what you’re doing. Simply peek into the BlackBerry Hub from anywhere with a swipe to effortlessly flow in and out of your messages and conversations.
• BlackBerry World delivers a rich, thriving app and content ecosystem
  Discovering and sharing great apps and content is easier than ever with recommendations based on similar purchases, and access to more than 100,000 apps on the BlackBerry World storefront.

The company’s 70-80 million subscribers are mostly in regions like the Middle East, India, Europe, and Africa. That said, the Q5 will be available in July in select markets in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Latin America.

Source: BlackBerry

Nitesh

Sharp has launched the Sharp Aquos 206SH Android smartphone, which will be available in Japan with mobile carrier Softbank.

Firstly, there’s a massive 3,080 mAh battery under the hood, as well as Sharp’s “Eco Tech” controls for throttling the 1.7GHz Snapdragon S4 Pro quadcore processor when its full power isn’t needed.

The Aquos 206SH has a 5-inch CG Silicon TFT LCD display with a very impressive 443 ppi and a 13-megapixel rear camera featuring f/1.9 optics. It also has 1-Seg digital TV, Wi-Fi a/b/g/n/ac, Bluetooth 4.0 and LTE connectivity (where applicable) and runs the Android 4.2 Jelly Bean operating system.

As well as this a desktop dock will be available and as another bonus this phone is also waterproof. The design is elegantly sleek and it’s scheduled for a release in late June on Japanese carrier SoftBank. We think plenty of consumers would like to see this new Aquos phone introduced to other regions but there’s no news yet on if that will happen.

Source: SlashGear

Tushant Verma

If you are creating apps for mobile devices then you know that the biggest rivalry is between Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android. Perhaps the most important question is which platform generates the most revenue.

While iOS is still a leading mobile OS, Android is quickly catching up, attracting user segments Apple isn’t capable of getting. Then again, that particular group of users (emerging markets) may not be the best bet for the app you’re making. Or is it?

Here’s a new infographic, prepared by the good folks of WebDesignerDepot, can help you out.

Source: WebDesignerDepot

Nitesh

BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins announced the rollout of the legendary BlackBerry Messenger, better known as BBM, to platforms other than BlackBerry OS. The BBM will now be available for iOS 6 and Android 4.0 ICS and above.

The free BBM app is expected to arrive on iOS and Android sometime this summer. Compatible Android devices will need to run Android 4.0 and later, while iOS devices with iOS 6 and up will be able to take advantage of BlackBerry’s messaging service. Both apps will of course need to pass Google and Apple’s approval process first.

Features

The first version of the Android and iOS apps, available this summer, will include the following features, according to a BlackBerry blog post.

• The immediacy of BBM chats
• Multi-person chats
• Voice note sharing
• BlackBerry Groups, where BBM users are able to set up groups of up to 30 people and share calendar, photos, files and more

By allowing people outside of BlackBerry to exchange messages with BlackBerry users,  the Canadian company will increase its influence in the messaging arena.

Via BlackBerry

Nitesh

Skype for Windows Phone 8 devices got updated which brings to the table mainly stability improvements and fixes for the message preview feature.

Today’s update brings Skype to version 2.6.0.148. With that you’re only getting general fixes and stability improvements. Specifically:

• Increased chat reliability
• Increased call notification reliability
• Improvements in call reliability to phone numbers
• Fix for occasional missing message preview in the recent conversations list

If you’re on Skype a lot you’ll appreciate these changes. Personally I’m glad they fixed the missing message previews in the recent conversations list. Found that happening more often than not with Skype on my device.

Source: Skype Blog

Tushant Verma