As expected, the Pentagon has finally approved Apple’s iPhone and iPad devices for use on the United States military networks, Bloomberg learned Friday. The clearance sets the stage for Apple to compete with Samsung and BlackBerry for military sales. According to the report, the Defense Department today approved the use of Apple’s portable products running the iOS 6 software… Read More
I still remember vividly how industry heavy-weights Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft initially laughed off gaming on the iPhone. It was right after Apple slashed the iPod touch to the sweet $199 price point that it became clear to me that gaming on high-end smartphones and tablets would eventually outgrow that on dedicated handheld consoles such as Sony’s PSP and Nintendo’s DS family.
Enter a new report by research firm IDC and analytics service App Annie which reveals just how far along mobile gaming has come. According to the study, users of smartphones and tablets spend nearly three times as much purchasing games on Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store as handheld device owners.
If these numbers are anything to go by, smart mobile devices will soon relegate dedicated handheld consoles to a niche market, if not eventually kill the category altogether… Read More
Just days after rival research firm Gartner released quarterly sales for iOS and Android, rival IDC today announced similar numbers for shipments of smartphones. Combined, iOS and Android maintained their stranglehold on the smartphone market, accounting for more than an astounding 92 percent of shipments during the first quarter of 2013.
In a surprising move, shipments of the Windows Phone smartphone operating system surpassed the BlackBerry OS, putting Microsoft in third place behind Android and iOS. I bet you didn’t see that one coming… Read More
You know, it wouldn’t be a Google I/O keynote without some kind of talk about Maps. Larry Page and company have made it very clear that its mapping technology is a big part of its future. And they gave us a bit of a glimpse of that future today.
Google will be releasing a big update for its Android and iOS Maps app this summer. And among several new features and updates, we’re happy to see that the software will finally be landing on the iPad. More details on the update after the fold… Read More
Google is in the middle of its I/O developer conference keynote right now, and so far it’s been pretty boring. There’s been no mention of consumer products yet, just some talk about developer API access and some new software and services.
The search giant did, however, unveil a new game service. Flying under the Google Play flag, the service resembles Apple’s Game Center, hosting leader boards, achievements, and facilitating real-time multiplayer. Oh, and it’s coming to iOS… Read More
Games super publisher Electronic Arts is bringing its Frostbite game engine to the iOS and Android platforms, the company confirmed Tuesday.
Developed by EA Digital Illusions CE, creators of the Battlefield series, the Frostbite engine supports Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 platforms and powers a wide range of video game genres, from first-person shooters to racing game and real-time strategies.
A mobile version called Frostbite Go will target “all major mobile platforms,” Electronic Arts confirmed, specifically mentioning iOS and Android… Read More
When seeking increased sales of mobile phones, observers need to look east. That’s the word from one large analyst firm, noting more than half of all mobile phones sold during the first quarter of 2013 were in the Asia/Pacific market. For Apple, its sales in mainland China alone neared seven million units during the period, largely credited to the lower-priced iPhone 4. Worldwide, the California-based smartphone maker saw its share of mobile phone sales rise… Read More
Big news in the world of Mobile Substrate, but oddly enough, it has nothing to do with iOS and everything to do with Android. Yes, you heard right, Android. The creator behind Cydia and Mobile Substrate, Saurik, has released Substrate for Android, and he’s created a brand new website to document the new addition to the family.
What does this mean for Android users? It means many of your favorite jailbreak apps and tweaks could make it to Android, (WinterBoard is already available!) with the potential for many more… Read More
Is Apple doing enough to prevent an upsurge in thefts targeting the iPhone? That’s the question New York State’s Attorney General is asking the smartphone maker, citing several violent incidents involving thefts of mobile phones. In a letter to Apple, Android-maker Google, Galaxy manufacturer Samsung and others, Eric Schneiderman wants details on what the companies are doing to prevent thefts of handsets.
The state’s top law enforcement official noted thefts of Apple products in New York City between January 1 and September 23 rose forty percent while major crimes in the Big Apple increased by just four percent… Read More
When you just can’t wait a minute to download that huge video, Samsung comes to the rescue. Sort of. Eventually. Reports Monday indicate Apple’s rival has found the key to delivering gigabit download speeds through a new fifth-generation cellular radio technology, dubbed 5G mmWave. It’s unclear whether the new tech can gain acceptance to eventually overtake 4G networks still rolling out.
For the iPhone maker, however, Samsung breaking today’s wireless speed barrier may mean more court wrangling as the two companies seek any advantage in the lucrative smartphone market… Read More
Earlier this week, we told you about Apple’s complaint over Google’s resistance to hand over parts of the Android source code documentation. Apple’s request is part of its ongoing California patent fight against Samsung. Bloomberg now reports that U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul S. Grewal ordered the Internet giant to disclose within two days what terms it’s using to find documents Apple has requested.
Despite Google’s insistence that the collection of such information would be “too burdensome,” the court also ordered that the search monster tell Apple “which Google employees those documents came from”… Read More
Research firm Canalys Thursday offered data on first-quarter smart mobile device shipments, with an estimated 300+ million new units for a 37.4 percent year-over-year growth. Google’s Android powered 59 percent and Apple’s iOS powered a little over nineteen percent of these devices, according to researchers. Key takeaways: Android leads the smartphone race, Apple is holding onto the tablet market and laptop demand continues falling.
Pay attention to Canalys’s parlance because ‘smart mobile devices’ include smartphones, tablets and laptops. Another important caveat: Canalys stats don’t divulge shipped vs sold units. This is an important distinction as a device shipped into a channel does not automatically result in a device sold to a consumer… Read More
Much is being made of Samsung’s hoard of cash, estimated at $28.5 billion once the South Korean conglomerate’s debt is taken into consideration. At any rate, the Galaxy maker has watched its net cash almost triple in the past year, thanks to double-digit profits fueled by the rising sales of its mobile division which makes smartphones and tablets.
In just three years, mobile phones have grown to be 74 percent of Samsung’s profits, overshadowing sales of LCD TVs and memory chips. On other words, three out of every four dollars Samsung earns come from mobile devices.
However, Apple remains the industry’s most-profitable player, retaining a $145 billion cash pile while offering anxious investors a $100 billion stock buyback. Is Samsung destined to follow Apple’s footsteps, or repeat the errors of other Asian giants, such as Panasonic, drowning in debt? Read More
For some time, whenever Android proponents argued for the platform’s dominance based on handsets shipped, Apple fans would counter by pointing out the iPhone was tops in profits.
Indeed, a new report shows Apple had more than half of all mobile profits during the first quarter of 2013, leading Android handset rival Samsung.
According to Canaccord Genuity, the iPhone maker came away from this year’s first period with 57 percent of mobile phone profits, despite having just eight percent of the worldwide handset market share.
By contrast, South Korea’s Samsung – which leads in market share – earned just 43 percent of the share of profits. However, the two companies could soon switch positions. The analyst firm claims iPhone sales will be weak in the upcoming June quarter, overshadowed by profits fueled by Samsung’s new Galaxy S4… Read More
Apple’s proxy fight against Google and its Android platform has just taken an interesting turn as the iPhone maker asked the court to force Google into turning over Android’s source code. The request is part of Apple’s ongoing California patent fight against Samsung. Bloomberg reports today Apple is dissatisfied with Google’s handling of the request.
According to Apple’s lawyers, the search giant in “improperly withholding information” related to Android’s source code documentation. Google’s mobile operating system, Apple argues, “provides much of the accused functionality” and argues the Google platform is used in all of Samsung’s allegedly infringing products… Read More
Looking at tech news headlines from the past few months, you’d think Apple was in trouble. And not just “we had an off quarter” trouble, but “is Apple the new Research in Motion” trouble. Some folks even think Tim Cook could lose his job.
But looking at the bare numbers seems to suggest the exact opposite. The company just reported a record-breaking quarter. It has more than $130 billion in cash. And according to a new report, it has nearly 40% of the US smartphone market… Read More
In the latest lesson on how to be a smart tech news consumer, we focus on why research pointing to Apple gains somehow is trumpeted as losses for the iPad maker.
Wednesday, research firm IDC announced Apple’s tablet saw a 65 percent year-over-year gain in first-quarter shipments.
Yet several news outlets blared headlines of the iPad’s market share falling below 40 percent. How was Apple’s strong growth spun into an Android win? Read More
Despite Apple’s iPad growing 65.3 percent year over year, the company’s share of the total tablet market dropped from the 58.1 percent a year ago to an IDC-estimated 39.6 percent during the first quarter of this year, largely thanks to Apple not participating in the sub-$300 segment.
The rise of these cheap tablets improved Google platform’s web usage share, with Android smartphones and tablets now owning 26 percent of all web traffic, a 35 percent annual gain as measured by research firm NetApplications.
In other words, one out of each four mobile devices used on the web are Android-branded, though Apple’s iPhone and iPad still account for a commanding 59.4 percent of the Internet’s traffic generated by mobile devices… Read More
A new report is out this afternoon, claiming the US Department of Defense is going to grant security approvals for Samsung’s Galaxy smartphones, as well as Apple’s iPhones and iPads running iOS 6 in the coming weeks.
The move is separate from the mobile device implementation plan that the Pentagon announced back in February, and could pave the way for Apple to gain more notable influence in the hard-to-reach government sector… Read More
Lugging around all the charts and papers required by commercial pilots can be a pain – literally. Now comes word Apple’s iPad is taking a load off pilots of one airline, replacing 40-pound flight bags with a 1.5-pound tablet. By the end of May, 8,600 American Airlines pilots will swap the heavy bags of charts, maps and manuals for the iPad, easing one of the industry’s largest sources of injuries… Read More
