Friday 05 August 2011

Apple Officially World's Biggest Smartphone Manufacturer    [ 05-08-2011 16:19 ]

Author: Serge Novikov   Source: Pocket-lint     Translation by: Paul Smith     

We already knew that Apple had taken the top spot as the world's largest smartphone manufacturer, but now it is official. Figures from the IDC show that Apple is now king of the heap in terms of both market share and units shipped.

During Q2 of this year Apple shipped 20.3 million units and held a 19.1% share of the market. Nokia haven't just been leapfrogged by this though, they have fallen to third place in the rankings. Samsung shipped 17.3 million units in Q2, a full 600,000 more than Nokia, which means Samsung is in second place. Nokia is still a good way ahead of fourth placed RIM at least who managed to ship 12.4 million units.

It's interesting to compare the change in fortunes for each company on a year on year basis too. Apple saw a change of 141.7% in shipments between Q2 2010 and Q2 2011. That massive growth figure is dwarfed though by Samsung's growth, which was, for the same period, an incredible 380.6%. Nokia on the other hand saw a 30.4% decline. HTC is also notable here, growing by 165.9%, which was enough to secure them fifth place, and to be withins triking distance of RIM's fourth place spot.

Perhaps the most amazing aspect of this though is that Apple has achieved the number one spot globally whilst only have one main smartphone, the iPhone 4

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China Telecom To Sell iPhone 5 & Simplified iPhone 4 By October    [ 05-08-2011 16:15 ]

Author: Serge Novikov   Source: All Things Digital     Translation by: Paul Smith     

China Telecom has apparently signed a 'preliminary agreement' with Apple to start selling the iPhone 5 before the end of October. The news comes from Brian White, an analyst at Ticonderoga Securities and he goes on to say that in addition to the iPhone 5 China Telecom will also be offering a scaled down version of the iPhone 4. White said:

According to Sohu.com, China Telecom will offer two types of iPhone that include the iPhone 5 and a 'simplified iPhone 4'. Essentially, this potential 'simplified iPhone 4' would be a more economical version of the iPhone to target a broader customer base in developing countries such as China, allowing for an expanded market opportunity.

Moving beyond the obvious inference that the iPhone will be launched sometime around October, the idea of a simplified iPhone has been around for a while now and it would make a lot of sense for Apple to pursue such a strategy at the moment. With Android reaching into developing markets the current cropof iPhones simply aren't competitive in markets where customers don't have the disposable income to afford handsets costing $500+. A simplified iPhone could help Apple capture some of that market share that they have so far ceded to Google.

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Blackberry QNX Handsets Delayed Until 2012    [ 05-08-2011 15:42 ]

Author: Serge Novikov   Source: eWeek     Translation by: Paul Smith     

Bad news for those awaiting RIM's anticipated round of QNX handsets according to one analyst because it looks like they will be delayed until the latter half of next year. Peter Misek, an analyst at Jeffries and Co, is telling clients not to look for the handsets this year or early next and it is interesing to see him decribe the launch window of late 2012 as a 'delay' since RIM themselves haven't actually given any timetable for the release of QNX handsets.

RIM is obviously keen on getting QNX handsets out the door as fast as they can given the competitive environment of the smartphone world so presumably if this is a delay to their plans it must be something they feel can't be surmounted any time soon. It does mean of course that BlackBerry OS 7 based handsets will continue to be at the vanguard of RIM's portfolio for the foreseeable future.

This could be problematic for RIM because other than general performance enhancements BlackBerry OS 7 isn't really bringing much that is new to the table. Compare this with the rapidly evolving nature of Android; the forthcoming Mango update for Windows Phone and Apple's imminent iOS 5 release and RIM could be on shaky ground.

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