Android

Poll: my next cell phone will be…

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated July 24, 2016

These days, it's all but impossible to escape Apple hate speech. You know who to blame: big media. I mean, stock manipulators played even the credulous Wall Street Journal. It's not just WSJ - or NYT or Reuters, for that matter.

Anti-Apple Forbes hit new lows with clickbait headlines like this one or this one. And as crazypants analysts voice their concern regarding "Apple’s lack of a strategy in the lower-end phone”, they at the same time continue to hallucinate about a happiness or time travel machine from Apple.

And all of them get an assistance from traffic-hungry journalists like Dan Lyons whose write-ups sound bitter and idiotic. But in spite of all that FUD talk, Apple is demolishing Android in every metric that matters. None of this frenzy should matter when considering your next cell phone.

But real life can be a bitch and with so much negative publicity mounting ahead of Apple's earnings report, no wonder some of the faint-hearted fans are beginning to question their faith in the California firm. I know where my heart stands, but I want to know one thing: do you know where your heart stands? So, what's your next phone gonna be?

Reality check: despite FUD talk, Apple demolishing Android in all metrics that matter

Ed Sutherland ∙ January 21, 2013

Now that Apple's stock price appears to have regained some sanity, rising this morning to $500 from last week's low, perhaps its time to introduce some reality into the Apple vs. Android discussions which lately have resembled Chicken Little's adaptation of the Mayan Calendar. Before "The Sky is Falling: Apple orders are down" mania, there was the "Android has the market share and Apple's a has-been" debate.

The core argument and evidence of Android's dominance over Apple was right out of Circular Logic 101: Android has the Market Share. But look behind the curtain and the end of the world does not seem so close - at least for Apple...

The iPad is becoming ad industry’s darling

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 10, 2018

Here's one of those news stories that only confirm what we already suspected: Advertisers are in love with the iPad. Not only is the iPad preferred over its Android equivalents, but also the iPhone.

Users of the iPad are more liable to click on an ad than ads displayed on a smartphone or rival tablet, according to new industry research.

According to mobile ad company MoPub, advertisers prefer tablets over smartphones. The preference is because ads for tablets require little changes to move from the desktop or laptop. However, Madison Ave. has an especially soft spot for the iPad, which attracts consumers even more than the iPhone. In addition, ads on the iPad bring advertisers more revenue than those shown to Android tablet owners...

There will be two billion smartphones by year’s end

Ed Sutherland ∙ January 17, 2013

Let's file this prediction by uber accounting firm Deloitte under 'been there, done that': world smartphone shipments will top one billion during 2013, and near two billion by year's end.

Back in October 2012, we reported that industry analyst firm Strategy Analytics announced the mark was passed during the third quarter of last year.

However, Deloitte adds a wrinkle to the smartphone race, forecasting we should top the 2 billion mark by the end of 2013. This means that an astounding billion shipments are expected throughout the calendar year 2013. That appears to suggest demand for smartphones is increasing across the globe. Remember, it wasn't that long ago that Strategy Analytics projected it would take until 2015 before we hit two billion smartphones...

Google CEO: our work on Maps is ‘clearly more appreciated now’

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 26, 2016

When Larry Page became the CEO of Google, taking over from Eric Schmidt who is now the company's chairman, he immediately began the Jobs-ification of the Internet giant. He axed a bunch of projects and put more wood behind fewer arrows in order to make the company more agile.

Page then set his sights on so-called moon shots, ambitious projects which could become the pillars of Google’s future growth. The decision gave birth to such projects as self-driving cars and Minority Report style Project Glass, for example. Page sat down with journalist Steven Levy who wrote a book on Google called "In The Plex: How Google Thinks, Works, and Shapes Our Lives" (a $15 download from the iBookstore), here's what came out of him...

Microsoft launches free natural disaster helper app

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 28, 2019

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WPYVHmW5GX8

Available now as a free download on Windows Phone, Android and iPhone, HelpBridge is Microsoft's new mobile app that everybody should have on their handset, just in case. Should you, God forbid, ever find yourself at the epicenter of a large scale natural disaster like Hurricane Sandy, the software will help you connect with those that matter to you most.

As a bonus, you can also use HelpBridge to rally everyone around one cause - that is, donate your money, time and resources to support relief and rebuilding efforts. The above clip shows off the Windows Phone version of HelpBridge, but you get the idea...

ChangeWave destroys all blabbering of supposedly weak iPhone 5 demand

Ed Sutherland ∙ January 15, 2013

If you've been watching Apple's stock price rise and fall as analysts debate whether it's the end of the world or simply a bad day for the iPhone 5, you're forgiven for feeling like a a yo-yo. However, to add to your confusion comes another set of charts illustrating everything's fine with iPhone 5 demand.

Indeed, according to a new ChangeWave survey based on a poll of 4,061 consumers in North America, demand for Apple's handset is as strong as ever. Specifically, 50 percent of respondents said they are planning to buy the iPhone 5 in the next 90 days, which jives well with Apple's previous iPhone launches. In fact, the iPhone 5 interest was higher than the iPhone 4S peak.

A series of charts also prove that iPhone interest, though flattening six months following the launch, remains high and even above rival Samsung. It all comes down to whether your cup is half-empty or half full...

PC marketshare to drop to 65% in 2013 as tablets take over

Ed Sutherland ∙ January 12, 2013

The days when PCs ruled the computer market are quickly coming to a close. The familiar battle between PCs and Macs is quickly morphing into an iOS versus Android landscape. As consumers opt for tablets over PCs, shipments of Wintel devices will drop to 65 percent in 2013 amid double-digit tablet growth.

After PC shipments fell 10 percent during the holiday fourth quarter of 2010, the 2013 PC marketshare will drop to 65 percent, down from 72 percent last year, according to researchers at Canalys. The reason: PCs - be they desktops, notebooks, or netbooks - are no longer needed for common computing tasks, such as reading e-mail and browsing the web...

iPad Inc: Apple tablet earns more than McDonalds on Fortune 500

Ed Sutherland ∙ Updated April 18, 2016

Has all the gloom-and-doom talk about the iPhone and iPad gotten you down? Are you worried Apple's three-year-old tablet is a bit long in the tooth - especially against Samsung and other Android devices? Well, turn that frown upside down. The iPad isn't going away. Indeed, one analyst says iPad sales are bigger than McDonald's, Nike and many other Fortune 500 companies. In 2012, iPad sales reaped $32 billion, amounting to 60 percent of tablets sold. If the iPad was a company, it would be eleventh largest tech firm in the United States, says Bernstein's Toni Sacconaghi.

We won't see a repeat of that in 2013, however. No, the iPad is expected to rake in an astounding $46 billion and grow 75 percent...

Tablets to crush notebooks in 2013 as PCs become trucks

Ed Sutherland ∙ January 9, 2013

The argument over whether tablets should be classified as PCs could soon be moot. Shipments of devices such as Apple's iPad are expected to overtake notebook PCs in 2013. The cause: tablet (iPad) shipments are growing by double-digit percentages while PC demand is falling off a cliff - even in emerging markets...

CES 2013: $150 Pebble smart watch starts shipping January 23

Christian Zibreg ∙ Updated January 31, 2016

The Pebble project has gone a long way since its early Kickstarter days. In fact, last April it became Kickstarter's most highly funded project to date. Nine months later, the customizable electronic-paper watch gets its release date as the company just confirmed in a media conference that the E-Paper Watch will be shipping to its backers on January 23...

AT&T confirms ‘best-ever’ sales of iPhone and Android smartphones

Christian Zibreg ∙ January 8, 2013

Ahead of its earnings call pertaining to calendar 2012 fourth-quarter results scheduled for January 24, carrier AT&T just announced, reporting 'best-ever' sales of Apple and Android smartphones. The Dallas, Texas wireless company sold a record ten million smartphones powered by Apple's and Google's platform during the holiday quarter of 2012 as Android and iPhone sales hit all-time highs. The figure beats the year-ago quarter when AT&T moved 9.4 million smartphones, 7.6 million of them being iPhones.

The “best-ever quarterly sales of Android and Apple smartphones”, according to AT&T Mobility President and Chief Executive Officer Ralph de la Vega, came down to an average of 110,000 smartphone sales each day. “These are the industry’s most valuable postpaid subscribers with average revenues twice that of non-smartphone subscribers", he noted...