Why do Samsung, HTC, Microsoft Even Bother to Sell Smartphones?

 Android, Apple  Comments Off on Why do Samsung, HTC, Microsoft Even Bother to Sell Smartphones?
Nov 052014
 

Since the fundamental reason a business exists is to make profits (and the more the better), one might ask the question – Why do Samsung, HTC, Microsoft, LG, Blackberry etc even bother to sell smartphones.

A new research report put out by Michael Walkley of research group Canaccord Genuity estimates that Apple took 86% of the profits made by the major handset vendors in the third quarter (July-September) of 2014.

Although Chinese smartphone vendors (peddling Android devices) have been in the news lately because of their low cost and fast processors, Walkley did not include them in his report for want of financial data.

Besides Apple, Samsung and LG were the only prominent handset vendors in positive territory in the third quarter.

“We believe Apple is experiencing a record iPhone 6 upgrade cycle due to very strong replacement sales as well as from high-tier smartphone market share gains from Android,” Walkley wrote in the research note. “We believe these trends should result in very strong (fourth quarter of calendar 2014) smartphone sales and share gains for Apple.”

Samsung – Bad Shape

In contrast to Apple’s go-go quarters, Samsung Electronics is struggling in recent quarters. Continue reading »

10 Cool Features of Fire Smartphone

 Android, Smartphones  Comments Off on 10 Cool Features of Fire Smartphone
Jun 182014
 

10 Cool Features of Amazon Fire Smartphone

Unless you were hiding under a rock, you know Amazon entered the smartphone business June 18, 2014 with the launch of Fire.

Although it’s highly unlikely the 4.7-inch Fire phone will dislodge the Apple iPhone or the Samsung Galaxy series from their high perch any time soon, the Amazon smartphone does have a bunch of cute features that should appeal to a lot of potential buyers.

Here are 10 cool features of Fire that might perhaps tempt you into buying the device ($200 for 32GB version with two-year contract at AT&T):

* Unlimited Cloud Storage of photos taken with the Fire. Thanks to Amazon’s Cloud Drive, Fire owners don’t ever have to worry about where to store their photos or running out of space on the device because they get unlimited cloud storage for all their pictures. Continue reading »

Amazon Fire Misses Golden Opportunity to Shake Up U.S. Smartphone Business

 Android, Smartphones  Comments Off on Amazon Fire Misses Golden Opportunity to Shake Up U.S. Smartphone Business
Jun 182014
 

Amazon Introduces Fire Smartphone
When Amazon launched the Fire smartphone today, it did what most large corporations often do – It went for the low hanging fruit while missing the larger opportunities.

Like a lot of people with more time on their hands than they know what do with, I watched Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos launch the Fire smartphone this morning.

As with any new smartphone launch these days, there’s always a few esoteric stuff in the gadget to tickle our senses for a few days.

With Fire, the novelties are the four cameras, the “Dynamic Perspective” interface and the Firefly scanning button to make it easy to buy more stuff from, of course, Amazon.

Otherwise, Fire is no different from any other new smartphone and will be upstaged by another device in the next three months or so with a different set of cute features.

But more than anything I was extremely disappointed to note the glaring absence of one thing.

So what’s the big thing missing?

A low price!

Opportunity Lost

Amazon missed a huge opportunity to strike at the stranglehold of the two big U.S. smartphone players, Apple and Samsung, by offering a cheap smartphone with all the bells and whistles. Continue reading »

Samsung Repeats Pricing Mistake with New Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition Tablet

 Android, Tablets  Comments Off on Samsung Repeats Pricing Mistake with New Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition Tablet
Sep 262013
 

If tablet history teaches us anything it’s that Android and Windows tablet vendors are loath to learn from the lessons of their costly past errors.

Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition Galaxy Note 10.1 – 2014 Edition
$549.99 (16GB model)

Same Error

Samsung announced pricing for its Galaxy Note 10.1-2014 Edition, repeating the mistake it, Microsoft, Motorola and so many other tablet vendors have made in the past – Pricing their tablet at or above the level of the market leading Apple iPad tablets.

Samsung’s starting price for the new Galaxy Note 10.1-2014 Edition is $549.99 (16GB), $50 more than the entry-level iPad, and $599.99 for the 32GB version (same as Apple’s 32GB model). Continue reading »

Apple Still King of Smartphones in U.S.

 Android, Apple, Smartphones  Comments Off on Apple Still King of Smartphones in U.S.
Aug 082013
 

Forget all the strum und drang about how Android is make chutney out of Apple’s iPhones.

Sure, Android smartphones are clobbering the iPhone in Asia and elsewhere but in America the iPhone is still the favorite of subscribers.

A new survey by comScore shows that Apple’s share of smartphone subscribers was nearly 40% at the end of June 2013.

Top Smartphones in U.S. June 2013

iPhone’s marketshare in the U.S. actually increased by 0.9% after Samsung launched its top of the line Galaxy S4 smartphone (Galaxy S4 was launched in March and started shipping in April).

Carrier subsidies and low prices of older generation iPhones (iPhone 4 and iPhone 4S) is helping Apple mount a stiff challenge to Android smartphones from Samsung, HTC and LG.

Samsung took the second spot with 23.7% marketshare (up 2% from the preceding quarter).

HTC came in third third, accounting for 8.5% (a drop of 0.5%) of smartphone subscribers.

Top Smartphone Platforms

By platform, Android continues to be the leading software backbone for U.S. smartphone subscribers.

Keep in mind that Android phones are sold by multiple vendors while the iPhone is offered only by Apple.

Top Smartphone Platforms in U.S. June 2013

At the end of June, Android accounted for 52% of smartphone subscribers in the U.S., a figure unchanged from the previous quarter.

Apple iOS grew a modest 0.9% to take its share of the smartphone platform to 39.9%.

Apple’s gain came at the expense of Blackberry, which is currently in its death throes.

A mere 3.1% of U.S. smartphone subscribers owned phones powered by Windows software suggesting that Microsoft is facing an uphill battle with consumers.

Android Clobbers iPhone on Marketshare; So Why is Apple Still Smiling?

 Android, Apple  Comments Off on Android Clobbers iPhone on Marketshare; So Why is Apple Still Smiling?
Aug 012013
 

For every iPhone that Apple sold in the second quarter of 2013, nearly six Android smartphones were sold in the same period.

According to market researcher Strategy Analytics, global shipments of Android smartphones in the second quarter of 2013 hit 182.6 million units.

Smartphone Shipments Q2 2013

Android accounted for nearly 80% of the smartphone market, up 10% from the second quarter of last year.

While shipments of Android smartphones were going gangbusters, Apple’s iPhones were seeing a much modest growth.

Shipments of Apple’s iPhones in the second quarter touched 31.2 million units, a modest increase of 5.2 million units over the second quarter of 2012.

Apple’s share of the smartphone market in the second quarter was 13.6%, down by 3% over the corresponding period last year.

If the second quarter smartphone numbers tell us anything, it’s that the battle will be between Android and Apple’s competing iOS mobile platform.

The other players will be merely also-rans!

Smartphone Marketshare Q2 2013

Why Do Android Phones Sell?

There are two main reasons behind the humongous shipments of Android smartphones:

1. Android smartphones are generally cheaper compared to iPhones. Continue reading »

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