Android holds 51% of US smartphone market, iOS at 31%

By Cody Lee on May 2, 2012

ComScore is out with a new report this week regarding US smartphone platform marketshare for the March quarter. And the highly-regarded marketing research firm provides an interesting look at the current smartphone landscape by OS.

Google, as you might have expected, is still in the lead with its Android operating system. Apple’s iOS is in a [comparatively] close second, and RIM and Microsoft come in at a distant third and fourth. Keep reading for a full breakdown… Read More

 

Carriers to Nokia: Lumia cannot match the iPhone’s sexyness

By Christian Zibreg on Apr 17, 2012

You may have heard that some analysts consider Windows Phone a legitimate iPhone contender and have probably read nice things about the new Lumia smartphone brand from Nokia that debuted last October. Lumia is the ailing cellphone giant’s inaugural Windows Phone lineup born out of their partnership with Microsoft.

The Lumia 900, Nokia’s latest attempt to beat the iPhone at its own game, is backed by millions of Microsoft’s marketing dollars and pushed with aggressive anti-Apple advertising. Nevertheless, the handset has apparently fell on def ear with both carriers and bankers. Read More

 

Nokia lampoons the iPhone with web videos ahead of Lumia 900 launch

By Christian Zibreg on Apr 2, 2012

AT&T is saying its high-profile launch of the Nokia Lumia 900 in the United States will dwarf the iPhone. We’ll see about that, but if a new Smartphone Betatest website is anything to go by, the Finnish cell phone giant isn’t afraid at all to take pot shots at the carrier’s ‘hero’ device.

Specifically, Nokia-posted videos on the site allude to the iPhone 4′s perceived weaknesses, including the infamous cellular reception issue that culminated under the controversial Antennagate headline in 2010. Read More

 

Windows Phone considered legitimate iPhone contender, but has no apps

By Cody Lee on Mar 28, 2012

Earlier today we reported that AT&T is preparing to launch the Nokia Lumia 900 — a Windows Phone handset that the carrier believes could outsell the iPhone when it debuts next month. And according to a new survey, that may not be as crazy as it sounds.

PC World recently conducted a large-scale survey for its annual Readers’ Choice Awards. The poll collects consumer feedback on wireless carriers, mobile operating systems, and smartphones. And some of the results may surprise you… Read More

 

AT&T says its upcoming Nokia Lumia 900 launch will top iPhone

By Cody Lee on Mar 28, 2012

Last October, the iPhone 4S launch set a number of records for both Apple and its carrier partners. AT&T claimed that it sold more than a million units of the popular handset, making it the most successful launch in the company’s history.

But apparently the operator believes that it can top that with its upcoming Nokia Lumia 900 launch. The Windows Phone handset, which is scheduled to go on sale early next month, will feature LTE and a tiny $100 price tag… Read More

 

Microsoft sees Windows Phone passing the iPhone in China

By Cody Lee on Mar 21, 2012

Apparently China is a hot topic today in the smartphone world. Earlier, we reported that the country’s Android and iOS device activations finally passed up those in the US. And now it looks like Microsoft wants in.

The company’s chief executive officer for the greater China region, Simon Leung, told Bloomberg this morning that Windows Phone will surpass the iPhone in smartphone market share in China by 2016… Read More

 

Microsoft pits Windows Phone 7 against iPhone in “Windows Phone Challenge”

By Oliver Haslam on Feb 23, 2012

Microsoft is taking a leaf out of Samsung’s playbook by going on the offensive in the battle for smartphone supremacy. With Windows Phone 7 not quite setting the world on fire with huge sales figures and just a 2% market share, Microsoft has apparently decided to go after the competition with a new ad campaign.

Posted to the Windows Phone Facebook page, the new push pits Windows Phone 7 against various other smartphones, including the iPhone, across a range of uses and applications. The premise is that Microsoft’s WP7 evangelist Ben Rudolph is offering $100 to anyone who can perform tasks faster on their own handsets than he can on his Windows Phone.

As is to be expected, he’s not handed over any money yet… Read More

 

Microsoft Admits that Windows Phone 7 Was a Response to the iPhone

By Oliver Haslam on Jan 9, 2012

Microsoft has for the first time admitted that it completely redesigned its Windows Phone 7 smartphone operating system because of the way Apple had changed the market with the iPhone’s release back in 2007.

Speaking to The New York Times, Microsoft’s Jim Belfiore admitted that Apple “created a sea change” when the iPhone was introduced, and that Microsoft was forced to come up with something unique in order to compete with Apple’s new smartphone.

In December 2008 a team at Microsoft sat down and, after a marathon seven-hour meeting, decided that the only course of action was to complete redesign their mobile OS from the ground up. The result is the Windows Phone 7 we see today… Read More

 

Nokia Exec Thinks iPhone is Boring and Android is Too Complicated

By Oliver Haslam on Dec 13, 2011

Nokia’s got it all figured out. See, youths don’t really want to buy an iPhone, it’s just so boring. Android isn’t quite what buyers are looking for, either. Teens just don’t understand what Google has put in front of them. How could they?

Those are the views of outspoken Nokia director of Portfolio, Product Marketing & Sales Niels Munksgaard in an interview with Pocket-Lint. Apparently, he even managed to say it with a straight face!

According to Nokia’s man, what do you think is the ideal platform for the youth of today? Windows Phone 7, of course! Read More

 

10% of US Mobile Subscribers Own iPhones

By Oliver Haslam on Dec 5, 2011

A new survey carried about by comScore claims that only 1 out of 10 American mobile subscribers own an iPhone, with Apple’s handset reaching the 10.8% mark as of October 2011.

The survey also suggests that Samsung is currently the top OEM in the country, with their phones currently in the hands of a quarter of all cellphone owners.

In fact, of the top five OEMs in comScore’s chart, Apple sits fourth, behind Samsung (25.5%), LG (20.6%) and Motorola (13.6%). Canadian firm Research In Motion takes fifth place with an ever-decreasing share of the market. Not great times for BlackBerry fans at all… Read More

 

How to Experience Windows Phone 7 on Your iPhone

By Cody Lee on Nov 29, 2011

Between being nearly three years behind the competition and trying to erase consumers’ bad memories of previous devices, Microsoft has its work cut out for it with Windows Phone 7. The platform recently fell below 2% in overall smartphone marketshare.

The Redmond company has come up with a pretty interesting marketing ploy to attract iOS and Android users to its mobile OS: an interactive website. The page fully immerses visitors in Windows Phone’s Metro UI, and here’s how you can access it… Read More

 

Siri vs. Microsoft’s Tellme Voice Control Feature

By Cody Lee on Nov 25, 2011

Microsoft and its chief strategy and research officer Craig Mundie have been taking a lot of smack over the past couple of days. Mundie made some controversial comments regarding Apple’s new Siri feature during a recent interview with Forbes Magazine.

The executive claimed that Microsoft has had Siri-like technology on its Windows Phone platform for over a year, and that Apple’s success with it has been the result of “good marketing.” But the two systems are miles apart, and here’s a video to prove it… Read More

 

iPhone Owners Are More Loyal Than Android Owners

By Oliver Haslam on Nov 25, 2011

We love our iPhones here at iDB, and even if we do play with an Android or Windows Phone 7 device here and there, we always come back to our iDevices without fail.

According to a new study by research firm GfK, we’re not the only ones captivated by our fruity phones. The report claims that of the survey’s 4,500 participants across Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Brazil, China, the United States, and Japan, 84% of current iPhone owners said they would buy another iPhone in the next twelve months.

That number drops to a comparatively low 60% for Android users… Read More

 

Microsoft: We’ve Had Siri for Over a Year!

By Cody Lee on Nov 23, 2011

Since Apple unveiled the iPhone 4S last month, everyone has been talking about one thing: Siri. The lovable assistant is the product of over 40 years of artificial intelligence research and the US CALO program (Cognitive Assistant that Learns and Organizes).

Siri isn’t apparently exclusive to Apple’s handset. Microsoft’s chief strategy and research officer Craig Mundie recently told Forbes that Microsoft has had similar voice control tech on its Windows Phone platform for more than a year!

We know, we didn’t see that one coming either… Read More

 

Nokia Unveils the Lumia 800 Running Windows Phone 7

By Alex Heath on Oct 26, 2011

You don’t hear this often at iDB, but Nokia just released an interesting smartphone line. The Lumia 800 and Lumina 710 were announced today, and both phones demonstrate Nokia’s attempt at getting back into the smartphone game with the Windows Phone 7 OS.

Focusing on the flagship Lumina 800 handset, Nokia is making some very interesting choices to distinguish itself from the likes of Apple and the iPhone. It’s nice to see some attractive handsets out there that may end up offering the iPhone some competition… Read More

 

Microsoft: The iPhone Doesn’t Give Enough Choice and Android is Chaotic

By Oliver Haslam on Oct 10, 2011

Those crazy folks at Microsoft seem quite keen on this new release of Windows Phone 7 they’ve been working on, and with good reason. Windows Phone 7.5, or “Mango,” is starting to find its way onto new and old handsets alike, and people seem rather taken with the changes the Microsoft has made.

With that success behind him, Windows Phone boss Andy Lees spoke to The Seattle Times, and he couldn’t help dissing Apple and Google while upholding Windows Phone as the best option out there for consumers… Read More

 

Europeans Love Android More Than iOS?

By Oliver Haslam on Sep 14, 2011

Everyone loves sales numbers, right? If that’s true, everyone really loves sales numbers that claim that either Android or iOS is winning the mobile war.

It seems different numbers point to a different winner in this war, or at least a different winner in each battle. And this time around it’s Android’s turn to be the victor… Read More

 

Nokia Executive Thinks Apple’s Focus on Apps in iOS is “Outdated”

By Cody Lee on Aug 11, 2011

Nokia is in an interesting position right now. Just a few short years ago they found themselves as nearly untouchable at the top of the wireless industry. But the Finnish company has struggled to keep up with new competition from Apple and Android handset-makers.

Bleeding smartphone sales, CEO Stephen Elop and company were forced to make a drastic decision. After several years of development, Nokia announced earlier this year that it would be dropping Symbian OS in favor of Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7.

Given the fragile state of the company, it was surprising to hear Nokia’s U.S. President Chris Weber slamming his opponents… Read More

 

25,000 Apps in the Windows Phone Marketplace

By Alex Heath on Jul 5, 2011

It was recently announced that the there are now 100,000 apps made specifically for the iPad in Apple’s App Store, and there are 500,000+ apps available to iOS users.

On the opposite side of the numbers spectrum, Microsoft just hit 25,000 apps in its own Windows Phone Marketplace. Sounds like there’s still a lot of catching up to do… Read More

 

Microsoft Invites Hackers to Jailbreak Windows Phone 7

By Alex Heath on Jun 21, 2011

Talk about a change of pace. Instead of the cat-and-mouse game that Apple has been playing with the jailbreak community for years, Microsoft has decided to go the opposite route and actually invite hackers to jailbreak the company’s own mobile platform, Windows Phone 7.

ChevronWP7 is doing something unprecedented by developing non-approved apps and services for a closed source OS. Microsoft is allowing this initiative in an attempt to make “Windows Phone development more accessible.” Read More

 
Page 112