Brazil

BRIC nations to overtake US as top smartphone markets by 2018

So-called BRIC nations (Brazil, Russia, India and China) are set to dominate smartphone market share by 2018, comprising four of the top seven markets, according to research released Tuesday. As a result, smartphone shipments to the US and Western Europe are forecast to drop to 33 percent of the smartphone market share, down from the current 39 percent.

At the same time, the top five countries in 2018 will account for just over half - 51 percent - of smartphone shipments globally. BRIC nations will account for a third of the shipments, according to ABI Research. The changing landscape means smartphone makers will need to keep pace...

iPad mini to finally hit Brazil next Tuesday following eight-month wait

It's widely believed an unknown portion of iPad mini production is being handled by Foxconn’s recently built manufacturing facilities in Brazil. It's remarkable then that the iPad mini is still unavailable in the country. The situation is finally set to take a turn for the better as the iPad mini is slated to arrive in Brazil next Tuesday, June 25. As you know, Apple launched the iPad mini in the United States and several other key markets eight months ago, in October 2012...

Apple could actually start repairing faulty iDevices in June

A letter Apple allegedly sent to Brazilian Authorized Service Providers signals significant changes to how the company handles iPhone and iPad repairs. Specifically, rather than replace faulty devices with their good-as-new refurbished counterparts, Apple should finally start performing device repairs in-house as early as next month, reports AppleInsider which got hold of Apple's letter to distributors.

We heard earlier in the month that major changes are coming to Apple's AppleCare warranty this fall so the development could signal Apple's intent to test the new policy in Brazil ahead of a broad roll-out later this year...

Apple may pay to use iPhone name in Brazil

Apple may be able to use the iPhone trademark to sell its smartphone in Brazil. Lawyers have requested 30 days to reach an agreement outside of court, according to a weekend report. Brazil's largest daily newspaper reported the two parties have dropped the lawsuit seeking ownership of the 'iPhone' trademark and plan a "pacific" agreement - likely to include a cash payment from the iPhone maker...

Facebook launches free or discounted Messenger access in 14 countries

Facebook on Sunday announced a new promotion that will allow users of Messenger for iOS and Android to exchange instant messages for free or at heavily discounted data rates in select international markets. Partnering with more than eighteen operators in fourteen international markets, the social networking giant said Facebook for Every Phone, basically a bare-bone service for feature phones that is now optimized for chat, is also included in this promotion.

The move arrives just after the company flipped the switch on the in-app VoIP calling feature in its mobile client for iOS and Android devices. Facebook first rolled out VoIP calling in Canada earlier this year, and some parts of the US, via the Messenger app...

Here’s your math behind a budget iPhone

After meeting with Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer recently, Morgan Stanley analyst Katy Huberty issued a report proclaiming so-called budget iPhone a no-brainer. Huberty joins what is now a growing list of analysts calling for such a device so Apple could better target emerging markets where cash-strapped folks mostly buy unlocked sub-$200 handsets - unlike the United States where carriers subsidize smartphones handsomely.

Thanks to these generous subsidies, US consumers don't pay full price for the hardware - provided they agree to a long-term service agreement, of course. Now, with the penetration level for the iPhone approaching a limit in the high-end segment, the untapped low-end represents an estimated $135 billion opportunity.

Even with Apple's margins peaking, an iPhone mini - as the media dubbed it - should triple Apple's addressable market in China and add nearly $2.4 billion to its handset business...

Brazil lawsuit claims iPad 3 made intentionally obsolete

Did Apple withhold features from the third-generation iPad, then make the tablet obsolete just six months afterwards by unveiling the iPad 4 - with the missing items? That's the accusation being made against Apple in a class-action lawsuit filed Thursday in Brazil. At the heart of the lawsuit brought by the Brazilian Institute of Politics and Law Software (IBDI) is the charge Apple released the "new iPad" in May 2012, then in October introduced the iPad 4 alongside the iPad mini. By updating the processor and other features Apple has produced planned obsolescence...

Apple appeals Brazil’s iPhone trademark ruling

In a repeat of the ProView situation, Apple today lost exclusive rights to the 'iPhone' trademark in Brazil to a local company called IGB Electronics S.A. that sells an Android cheapo with 'iPhone' in its name. While this means both IGB and Apple are allowed to market 'iPhones' in the 200 million people country, Apple - keen on avoiding user confusion and public humiliation - has now appealed the decision by the Brazilian Institute for Industrial Property (INPI)...

Apple loses iPhone trademark in Brazil to an Android maker

Earlier this month came a rumor that Apple was in jeopardy of losing its ‘iPhone’ trademark in Brazil to the local electronics maker IGB Eletrônica SA, which applied for exclusive rights to the name back in 2000, winning the rights to the moniker. In 2007, Apple asked the Brazilian Institute for Industrial Property (INPI) to make iPhone its exclusive trademark, but a report lats week suggested the request won't pass muster. Today, Brazilian regulators have ruled that Apple does not have exclusive rights to use the "iPhone" trademark in the country...

How Apple sales are hitting a language barrier

Do you need another metric to follow in the race between Apple and Android? How about language?

That's the focus of a new report suggesting Apple's iPhone is predominantly focused on English-speaking nations while Android-powered Samsung smartphones are popular in Asia, Africa and South America, where English-speaking consumers are a minority.

After sifting through the Twitter accounts of both Apple and Samsung, a Saudi Arabian researcher at King Saud University (KSU) found 75 percent of Apple's followers spoke English, while about 35 percent of Samsung's online fans were non-English speakers...

Copyright regulator to strip Apple of its iPhone trademark in Brazil

On Monday, we passed along a report claiming that Apple is in jeopardy of losing its 'iPhone' trademark in Brazil. It applied for exclusive rights to the name back in 2007, and is expecting to hear a decision from the country's copyright regulator next week.

The problem is that the iPhone trademark has belonged to electronics maker IGB Eletrônica SA since 2008. And rumor has it that the Brazilian Institute of Intellectual Property is going to rule in its favor, meaning Apple couldn't use the term anymore...

The iPhone moniker is in jeopardy in Brazil

When Apple acquired rights to the iPhone moniker from Cisco ahead of the 2007 iPhone launch, the company probably never dreamed that it could face losing naming rights in Brazil. Reuters in December 2012 relayed a local report explaining that the Brazilian electronics maker IGB Eletrônica SA owns a trademark for the “IPHONE” term in Brazil. And now, another report has it that IGB could indeed be the rightful holder of the iPhone trademark in the country...