Photo: Samsung

The highly anticipated Samsung Galaxy S III will be unveiled later than expected, after reports emerged that the Korean consumer electronics maker would not use Mobile World Congress 2012 to show off their device.

Reveal after MWC, release before ‘summer’

The news comes courtesy of The Verge, who cited indications from ‘people familiar with the matter’ that the unveiling of the latest release of the best-selling Android device in the world by some margin would only happen after MWC 2012 in February. The source did, however, explain that the originally planned summer release window (between June and August) remains in tact.

Why the delay?

While a reason for the delay has not been given, it’s believed that Samsung was unhappy with the long gap between the Samsung Galaxy S II’s unveiling at MWC, and its eventual release in North America. Given how massive North America is as a smartphone market and the fact that the Galaxy S II is the best selling Android handset in the region, whatever Samsung can do to accelerate sales of the S III will be prudent.

What we can expect

A report in TechRadar on Tuesday suggested that the Samsung Galaxy S III would launch in the UK as soon as April, with an impressive tech spec sheet to boot. The handset will reportedly have a 12-megapixel camera, and will run on Ice Cream Sandwich from day one (unlike many as-yet unreleased handsets that will get an ICS sandwich as an update after release).

The gravity of anticipation

Just as Samsung has managed to become the second biggest smartphone manufacturer in the world behind only Apple, the Samsung Galaxy S III and its predecessors have shaped up to become the second most anticipated smartphone releases each year. I’d like to think the S III is a big enough deal that it should get its own press conference, and that MWC 2012 may be too crowded as is.

Thoughts? We’ll see how Samsung plays it.

Photo: rikkit / Flickr

Early reports indicate that the Nokia Microsoft is paying dividends, with nearly half of all second-generation Windows Phone 7 handsets sold being by the Finnish handset manufacturer.

Unpacking the WP7 marketshare

The report comes courtesy of WMPoweruser, who used data gleaned from OccasionalGamer’s game collection. On Nokia, they write: ‘Even at this early stage the company already has 45 percent of the second generation handset market, with most of that being the Nokia Lumia 800 and some the more recently introduced Nokia Lumia 710.’ Next in line? HTC with 40 percent market share, but that is down quite drastically from the 55 percent market share the company had prior to Nokia’s arrival.’

How much is the base growing?

The fact that Nokia has managed to race to almost half of all sales of the second-generation handsets so quickly is notable, but there are a few important qualifiers to consider. If that growth is at the expense of other WP7 handset vendors, as opposed to growing the whole sales base of WP7 handsets, than this is not an ideal situation for the Nokia Microsoft partnership.

Why? Well, Microsoft wants to compete with Android and iOS, and for that to happen, the company’s mobile OS has to grow in volume. What each vendor has of a non- or slow-growing base of WP7 handsets is, for all intents, immaterial. Nokia, on the other hand, wants to compete with the likes of Apple, Samsung and HTC, and for that to happen, need consumer acceptance of Windows Phone 7 and overall sales of that mobile OS platform to explode.

What will follow?

Windows Phone 7 say that they ‘suspect if market acceptance for Windows Phone 7 increases it may be because it becomes strongly associated with Nokia, which may mean this percentage could easily increase to 60-70% or more,’ while some users comment that the market will grow because of Nokia, but other OEMs will become attracted to WP7 as a result. Whichever it is, the Nokia Microsoft partnership has very quickly become mission critical – as many suspected it would – if WP7 is to succeed in the long run.

Photo: suanie / Flickr

During their surprisingly weak earnings call – falling short of the street’s expectations – Google revealed that Android’s unreal momentum is showing no signs of slowing any time soon. The company announced that the mobile OS platform has been activated on a quarter of a billion devices, with the number of applications downloaded soaring, too. Of those device activations, 3.7 million were activated on Christmas day alone.

On iOS’ heels

For perspective on how significant the Android device activation figure is – as if 250 million is not ridiculous in and of itself – in October 2011 Apple revealed they had activated 250 million iOS devices. This, of course, included iPhones, iPads, and iPods. Android was released some two-years after Apple and has closed the gap almost exclusively with smartphone sales, since Android tablet PC sales are still relatively insignificant.

Apps market exploding

During the earnings call, Google CEO Larry Page also announced that over 11 billions apps had been downloaded from the Android market. Bank of the napkin maths reveals an average of about 44 apps per Android smartphone across the platforms lifetime.

What’s more, that application download number only accounts for what is on Google’s official app store, and precludes download stats from the Amazon Appstore, GetJar, direct app sales by publishers like EA, and other third party application marketplaces. Basically, the official apps number is certainly higher than just 11 billion. Once again, for perspective, over 18 billion iOS apps had been downloaded by October last year.

Where the influence lies

2012 is a significant year for the mobile OS team at Google. Maintaining and growing Android device activation will be a priority, as will finally kicking on in the tablet PC market, where Apple is still king and Amazon with its Kindle Fire has managed to sneak in and wedge itself into second place behind pure Android tablets.

Photo: VentureBeat / Flickr

The long-rumoured – and frequently leaked – Sony Xperia S was finally revealed at CES 2012. In addition to finally being confirmed by Sony, the Android smartphone now has an official UK release date, as well as pricing guidance.

Release date

The Xperia S will be available from 5 March onwards, and is priced at £429.99 Sim-free, reports TechRadar. The handset will be available from O2, Three, T-Mobile and Orange, while Phones4U will also exclusively retail the white version of the otherwise black handset. Vodafone seems to have given the phone a pass for the time being.

Why you should care

The handset has a notable design, with the thick bottom bezel piece with XPERIA engraved across it, separated by a thin silver strip where the Android buttons rest. This gives the phone a unique, immediately recognisable look.
The Sony Xperia S is powered by a 1.5GHz dual-core processor so performance should not be an issue. The handset has an LCD HD display that spans 4.3-inches, which is fast becoming the ‘new’ smartphone display size standard. It has a high-resolution 12-megapixel camera that sports an Exmor R lens. It can also record 720p video, which can be played on a television directly from the phone through the built-in micro-HDMI port on the handset.

The handset has been built around Google’s Android Gingerbread mobile OS, with Sony committing to update it to Ice Cream Sandwich after release.

Is it enough?

I like the Sony Xperia S, especially its design, which is saying a lot considering the general homogeneity of most contemporary smartphones. With the impressive camera, mobile photography fans would do well to consider it for their next purchase, too, as would any other users looking to purchase an Android device. With Mobile World Congress at the end of February, Sony runs the risk of having some of its thunder stolen by what other manufacturers release there.

Photo: n8kowald / Flickr

Pareto’s 80/20 principle holds in many environments. Sometimes the effect is greatly exaggerated, as evidenced by the distribution of mobile data usage. A recent study found that the ‘1 percent’ on mobile carriers used 50 percent of data, leaving 50 percent of data to the remaining 99 percent.

An ever-widening gap

Arieso, an English company based on Newbury was commissioned by a European mobile carrier to track data traffic stats over a 24-hour period during November last year.  The company, which advises carriers in the US, Africa and Europe, found that the gap between heavy users and the remaining population was extremely wide and widening further still. In 2009, the top 3 percent generated around 40 percent of a network’s traffic. In 2011 the top 3 percent generate a top-heavy 70 percent of all the traffic on a network.

Occupy the Downlink

Speaking on the findings, Michael Flanagan, who is Arieso’s chief technology officer, said that: ‘Some people may draw the parallel to Occupy Wall Street, and I’ve already heard comments about ‘Occupy the Downlink.’ He added that ‘But the situations are very different, and the mobile situation doesn’t break down along socioeconomic lines.’

Flanagan explained that his study did not produce a precise profile of who these extreme mobile data users were, but he said he expected that they were made up of a mix of users, including business users that used their devices for Internet usage during their travels, and non-discretionary users with unlimited data packages that were users their devices to consume video. Video, like on the web, is the biggest culprit for heavy data use.

Increasing pressure on data usage

Device distribution for these extreme users on mobile data networks saw 64 percent using laptop, 33 percent using smartphones, and an impressive 3 percent on iPads. With ever more data hungry features released on mobile devices, like the Siri feature on Apple’s iPhone 4S, carriers have to constantly investigate mobile data usage trends to figure out how to price so as to maximise profits.

Photo: handy2day / Flickr

Charlie Kindel, a former Windows Phone GM, wrote a post explaining the reasons he believed were behind Windows Phone 7’s continued struggles in sales even though – according to him – it was a superior platform to Google’s mobile OS. He says it all comes down to control – and that is what has limited WP7’s sales potential to date.

Kindel’s reasoning

Kindel explains that there are four primary sides of the mobile market – the users, the OS providers, the device manufacturers and the mobile carriers. He explains that they all own and control different parts of the market, while in conflict in other parts. He explains that where Google gives the device manufacturer and the carrier control – leading to more Android devices being made and carrier retail sales people punting Android phones – Microsoft restricts this control, meaning manufacturers and carriers support it less. In turn users do not have the devices marketed to them by the carriers, hence Microsoft’s week sales position.

What this means

Charlie Kindel explains that this means that Windows Phone 7 is able to provide a superior end user experience, though it comes with a price. ‘This is why, despite being a superior PRODUCT to Android, Windows Phone has not sold as well.  Spending marketing dollars on advertising Android devices is and easy decision for the carriers. Pushing RSPs to push Android is easy,’ he writes.

In the long run, he believes this model – putting users first – could trump over Google’s ‘do what you will approach’, which he says has resulted in the platform becoming extremely fragmented.

A comeback unlikely?

Tech writer turned venture capitalist MG Siegler says that, even if WP7 is marginally better than Android or iOS, it’s not enough, especially given how late to market it is. ‘Two to three years in the hole, the only way Windows Phone can win the market now is to make a product that is leaps and bounds better than what’s out there. They need something that’s an iPhone-in-2007 type product. The product they have, while good, isn’t that,’ Siegler writes.

The Windows Phone 7 sales problem has been on my mind for some time now. The mobile OS platform is, in my view, at least on par with Google’s Android, if not superior. What’s for certain is Android OS isn’t manifold better warranting the major sales gap between the two platforms. So what then is Microsoft to do to mitigate their current sales problem?

Kindel does a good job outlining how, in simple terms, the mobile devices market is structured. His argument for Windows Phone 7 sales issues is well articulated, but the proactive steps the WP7 team need to take to kick start sales outside of throwing money at the problem and waiting is not explained at all.

Photo: RMNL / Flickr

Deutsche Bank has lent its voice to the growing chorus of industry voices that have predicted how well the Nokia Lumia line of Windows Phone 7 handsets have performed. The firm predicts that the Finnish mobile phones giant will sell 2 million Nokia Windows Phone 7 handsets in Q4 2011, roundly beating analyst expectations in the process.

Differing opinions

Deutsche Bank’s estimates for Nokia’s sales trajectory are in stark contrasts with those of Pacific Crest analyst James Faucette, who just last week issued a note to investors, saying Nokia Lumia sales had gotten off to a slow a start. ‘We had expected that the company could ship as many as 2 million units into the six targeted markets for the holidays; however, we now believe that those shipments are likely to be less than 1 million for the quarter,’ he wrote at the time. In fact, he estimated that the company would only sell 500,000 phones – a mere 25 percent of the initial estimates.

If anything, contrasting Deutsche Bank’s expectation that Nokia Windows Phone 7 sales would meet estimates with Pacific Crest’s conservative outlook shows the pitfalls of being too reliant on analysts for sales outlooks.

So much hangs in the balance

The Nokia Windows Phone 7 handsets have huge bearings on Nokia’s future, Microsoft’s future, and the overall makeup of the smartphone industry. If the handset clicks with consumers, Nokia, who for over a decade led the mobile phones industry almost unchallenged, have a chance of returning some glory to the beleaguered firm. For Microsoft, whose WP7 mobile OS has had sputtering sales, the Nokia Lumia phones could be just the momentum the company needs to put its handsets in the hands of customers who currently ignore it in favour of iOS and Android.

Photo: laihiu / Flickr

The long-awaited Samsung Galaxy Nexus is finally available for purchase in some regions, and early reviews of the Android Ice Cream Sandwich smartphone have begun rolling in. Suffice it to say, the general sentiment across major tech publications is positive, with some calling the device their favourite Google Android handset released yet. Below are extracts from some reviews.

‘Favourite Android device’ in the world

BGR’s Jonathan S. Geller writes: ‘This is almost comical at this point, but the Samsung Galaxy Nexus is my favorite Android device in the world. Easily replacing the HTC Rezound, the Motorola DROID RAZR, and Samsung Galaxy S II.’ He explains that the latest Google mobile OS could be more intuitive, but it certainly is powerful, and that ‘Android 4.0 is coupled with the best smartphone Samsung has ever produced and easily leapfrogs any other competitor’s device.’

Best Android phone ever made

Joshua Topolsky over at The Verge is equally smitten with the Samsung Galaxy Nexus. He writes: ‘The Galaxy Nexus is the best Android phone ever made. It’s one of the best smartphones ever made, and with a couple of minor tweaks (particularly to the camera), it could be the best smartphone ever produced.’ He mentions its size – with a colossal 4.65-inch display – could be off-putting to some. Importantly, he says that Android Ice Cream Sandwich ‘is a fantastic OS.’

Good, but not great

The folks over at TechRadar are not as smitten as BGR or The Verge. They write: ‘We had real high hopes for the Galaxy Nexus and genuinely expected it to take the place of best smartphone on the market today. But it hasn’t.’

The review continues: ‘If you were to take away Ice Cream Sandwich, hardware-wise, you’d not have much to write home about compared to what else is out there.’

All in all, while impressed with the device, they don’t think the Samsung Galaxy Nexus as a piece of hardware is the home run it could have potentially been.

General trends

Having read through several Samsung Galaxy Nexus reviews, the general trend seems positive. There’s almost universal approval for Android Ice Cream Sandwich, and there’s belief that Samsung has, against all odds, topped what it achieved with the Samsung Galaxy S2. Once we’ve spent solid time with it, we’ll share our thoughts on the handset.

Photo: neonbubble / Flickr

The Nokia Windows Phone 7 handsets that are under pressure to save both Nokia’s handset business and Microsoft’s mobile OS platform have gotten off to a slow start, if a recent report by an analyst is anything to go by. Pacific Crest analyst James Faucette has slashed his estimations of how many of the handsets could sell by 75 per cent.

A quarter of what was initially expected

In a note to clients, Faucette writes that [via Forbes]: ‘We believe that shipments of Nokia’s new Windows Phone 7 products have been lower than we had previously anticipated.’ He continued, saying: ‘We had expected that the company could ship as many as 2 million units into the six targeted markets for the holidays; however, we now believe that those shipments are likely to be less than 1 million for the quarter.’

Faucette believes that Nokia’s handsets could sell as few as 500,000 units, a mere 25 per cent of the total initially predicted.

Some perspective

On one level, the poor performance predicted by Pacific Crest analyst James Faucette could be seen as cause for concern for Nokia, and on another level, it could be nothing. Remember, the two million units figure was his estimate, and not Nokia’s. What’s more the Nokia Windows Phone 7 handsets are new to market and represent a comeback for the Finnish mobile phones giant – and something of an ‘arrival’ for Microsoft’s WP7 mobile OS – and so slow sales in the early going aren’t necessarily a bad thing.

Nevertheless, you can bet that both Microsoft and Nokia are keeping a nervous eye on Nokia Windows Phone 7 sales. Both companies need this to come off, and the longer it takes to gain momentum, the more anxious both parties will be, justified or unjustified.

Photo: bertconcepts / Flickr

After getting off to a solid start, sales of RIM’s smartphones that run on BlackBerry OS 7 are beginning to slow. This is according to a report issued by Canaccord Genuinity, citing industry checks.

Canaccord Genuinity analyst T. Michael Walkley says that sales of the Canadian smartphone giant’s recently released mobile OS platform have been poorer than Research In Motion had hoped. The BlackBerry OS 7 phones were meant as a stop-gap between RIM’s dated OS 6 mobile OS platform and the company’s next-generation BlackBerry BBX devices.

Pressure from all directions

Instead OS 7 has gotten off to a sputtering start as increased competition from Apple with their iPhone, and Android, led by the Galaxy Nexus, has resulted in RIM’s market share nose-diving, particularly in North America. ‘With the launch of the iPhone 4S, increasingly price-competitive Android smartphones, improving Windows smartphones, and the launch of the Amazon Kindle Fire tablet, we anticipate increasing competition across all tiers of RIM’s products in [calendar year] 2012,’ said Walkley.

He added that ‘while our September/October checks indicated solid sales of new BlackBerry OS 7 models, especially the Bold 9000 series as an upgrade enterprise sale, our recent checks indicate slowing sales trends post the launch of the iPhone 4S and price reductions of the iPhone 4 and 3GS.’

BBX a short-term curse

While the BlackBerry BBX platform is positioned as RIM’s potential saviour, the platform will also lead to a further slowdown in sales of Research In Motion’s current products. Canaccord Genuinity analyst T. Michael Walkley expects the next generation RIM OS to arrive in the middle of 2012, which he predicts will lead to a sales slowdown across the board each quarter up until then. Not ideal for Research In Motion, but the slowdown could have been even more dramatic if the company didn’t have something in the pipeline.