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Tag: Smartphones

  • Huawei Shifting Focus to the Cloud

    Huawei Shifting Focus to the Cloud

    As US-led sanctions take a toll, Huawei is increasingly shifting its focus to the cloud to help secure its future.

    Huawei is one of the main network equipment providers worldwide, competing with Nokia and Ericsson. In addition, it is one of the top smartphone makers. Despite its success, it has been under increasing pressure from the US over security concerns.

    While all Chinese companies must comply with the Chinese government, Huawei is largely seen as having unusually strong ties to the Chinese intelligence and military community. As a result, US officials have been adamant in their accusations that Huawei represents a threat to the national security of any country allowing the company’s equipment on their networks. This has led the US, Australia, New Zealand and the UK to institute bans of the beleaguered company.

    The US has also modified its Entity List and Foreign Direct Product Rule to exclude Huawei from accessing products based on US technology, even if those products are manufactured by non-US companies. This effectively cut Huawei off from TSMC, one of its biggest chip suppliers, causing Huawei to admit it will likely have to stop making its own chips as a result.

    According to the Financial Times, Huawei is now shifting its focus to its cloud business in an effort to stabilize and ensure its future survival. Recognizing the growing importance of its cloud unit, Huawei elevated it to equal footing with its telecoms and smartphones units back in January. The company still has much ground to cover before it catches up with rivals Tencent and Alibaba, but FT reports the Chinese government is planning to give Huawei more public cloud contracts to help it stabilize.

  • Corning Introduces Gorilla Glass Victis, Toughest Version Yet

    Corning Introduces Gorilla Glass Victis, Toughest Version Yet

    Corning has introduced its strongest version of Gorilla Glass to date, Corning Gorilla Glass Victis.

    Corning’s glass is the industry standard and is used in laptops, smartphones, tablets and more. Gorilla Glass is known for being one of the toughest options in a market where manufacturers are eager to improve the drop and scratch resistance of their devices. Unfortunately, being scratch and drop resistant don’t always go hand-in-hand.

    “Dropped phones can result in broken phones, but as we developed better glasses, phones survived more drops but also showed more visible scratches, which can impact the usability of devices,” said John Bayne, senior vice president and general manager, Mobile Consumer Electronics. “Instead of our historic approach of asking our technologists to focus on a single goal – making the glass better for either drop or scratch – we asked them to focus on improving both drop and scratch, and they delivered with Gorilla Glass Victus.”

    The new generation of glass provides protection when dropped up to two meters on hard, rough surfaces. Meanwhile, it provides 2X better scratch resistance than its predecessor, and up to 4X better resistance than competitors.

    It’s safe to say Gorilla Glass Victis will be a big hit with manufacturers around the world, and will help usher in a new generation of tough devices.

  • EU May Enorce Smartphone Replaceable Batteries

    EU May Enorce Smartphone Replaceable Batteries

    The European Commission is considering a proposal that would force smartphone manufacturers to use easily replaceable batteries.

    One of the primary goals of the proposed legislation is to help reduce e-waste by giving users the ability to replace an aging battery and continue using the phone. As ZDNet highlights, how the EU would go about enforcing it is unknown. Evidently, despite the EU trying to enforce a uniform charging port standard, there are no plans to take a similar approach with batteries. Different manufacturers, shapes, sizes and more all play into how batteries are designed.

    Although replaceable batteries used to be quite common in cell phones, the industry has changed dramatically since then. Phones have become larger, while at the same time slimmer. Smartphones are used hours more per day, and for a wider variety of tasks, than old-style flip phones.

    Companies often are accused of sealing up their phone cases and using non-replaceable batteries to improve profits by making it difficult to replace the battery and extend the life of the device. In at least some cases, however, there are practical issues. Having a sealed case helps keep dust out and makes it easier to waterproof the phone. It can also be easier to put a larger battery in a sealed phone.

    These factors will likely cause manufacturers to push back against the EU’s proposal. Whether they will be successful or not, remains to be seen.

  • Western Digital Flash Storage Ready For 5G

    Western Digital Flash Storage Ready For 5G

    5G stands ready to revolutionize mobile applications and services with speeds far exceeding what’s currently available. In light of that, Western Digital has announced a new line of flash storage specifically for 5G devices.

    The new iNAND® MC EU521 is designed to be fast enough to keep up with 5G speeds and ensure the device storage doesn’t create a performance bottleneck. The new storage “offers turbo sequential write speeds up to 800MB/s to better enable enhanced user experiences for applications such as downloading 4K and 8K media, large file transfers from the cloud, and gaming.”

    The memory will be available in 128GB and 256GB capacities, making it ideal for smartphones and tablet.

    “Smartphones now demand more performance and capacity as they often serve as the primary computing device for everything from streaming video, playing music, gaming and photography, to payments and mapping,” said senior vice president and general manager, Huibert Verhoeven, Western Digital’s Automotive, Mobile and Emerging business unit. “The SLC caching in the iNAND EU521 with Write Booster offers users several key performance improvements that when coupled with 5G are expected to bring faster movie downloads than ever before. This, and other capabilities make the EU521 a great option for today’s mobile equipment manufacturers.”

    Western Digital says the new memory will be available in March. Given the performance it offers, it’s a safe bet the company will have a hit on its hands.

  • Motorola Returning to Premium Phones: Razr Just the Beginning

    Motorola Returning to Premium Phones: Razr Just the Beginning

    CNET is reporting that Motorola is recommitting to the premium phone market, after years of making budget and midrange phones.

    Motorola made headlines in November with an updated version of its iconic Razr phone. The new model keeps the old-style, flip-phone form factor, but reimagined as a folding touchscreen smartphone. The new design has the advantage of a relatively small footprint, while still being able to unfold into a full-size 6.2-inch smartphone.

    At Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Tech Summit in Maui, Hawaii, the company made it clear the new Razr is just the beginning. According to CNET, Sergio Buniac, Motorola Mobility president, credited advancement in new technologies as part of the reason for the brand’s return to the premium market.

    “Thanks to the new technologies announced today, we’ll have new premium products to announce in early 2020,” Buniac said.

    The move is perfectly timed, as the mobile company has finally turned a profit after years of struggling, being sold to Google and finally Lenovo. In addition, with the cell phone market in a transformative stage—with 5G and foldable devices being the two hottest trends—companies that focus exclusively on entry-level phones risk becoming marginalized as the industry continues to evolve.

    If Motorola can bring back the sense of quality and style it was once known for, it should be a welcome readdition to the premium phone market.

  • Google and HTC Team Up to Challenge Apple’s iPhone

    Google and HTC Team Up to Challenge Apple’s iPhone

    It looks like Google is bent on diversifying its businesses as it moves further into hardware. In fact, its latest billion dollar deal suggests the company is determined to stake its claim in the smartphone market which inevitably puts it on the warpath with Apple’s iPhone.

    Google’s intention to join the hardware fray could not get any clearer. On Wednesday, the tech giant announced that it has entered into a $1.1 billion arrangement with Taiwan’s HTC, a deal which will effectively let Google hire a sizable part of HTC’s engineering team, tapping into their hardware expertise.

    While it was not stated just how many HTC engineers will now be working for Google, HTC chief financial officer Peter Shen revealed that the company’s research and design team will now be reduced to just 2,000, down from the 4,000 manpower complement before the deal. However, the deal won’t likely hurt HTC’s operations as the estimated 2,000 employees affected by the deal were already working on Google’s Pixel smartphones, which were manufactured by HTC.

    The latest move is in line with Google’s push to make it big in the smartphone and gadgets segment. In 2016, the company hired ex-Motorola chief Rick Osterloh to helm its new hardware division. A few months later Google announced the arrival of Pixel devices which were made with the help of HTC.

    But with half of HTC’s engineers at its beck and call, Google’s bid to be among the top hardware players has become very serious. Effectively, the arrangement will allow the company to manufacture its own range of devices, which could make it serious competition for rivals Apple and Samsung.

    But the potential rift between Apple and Google is expected to go beyond mere smartphone sales figures. According to The Verge, Apple is actually in the way of Google’s ambition to be on every device connected to the internet.

    As everyone knows, Apple has its own set of apps and software that has allowed it to remain independent of Google. Aside from running on its own operating system, it has its own Apple App Store, Apple Music, iCloud and its own smartphone, the iPhone line. In addition, Apple’s personal assistant Siri searches the web using Bing rather the Google search engine.

    And that is where Google would likely make its attack. By making its own suite of devices that ran only in Android, consumers will have no choice but to shun Apple applications. But to dislodging the well-entrenched Apple, with its horde of loyal customers, will not be a walk in the park for Google and would depend largely on whether or not its upcoming gadgets will outshine the iconic iPhone.

    [Featured Image by YouTube]

  • HoloLens Creator Alex Kipman Says Smartphones are Dead

    HoloLens Creator Alex Kipman Says Smartphones are Dead

    “The phone is already dead. People just haven’t realized,” said Alex Kipman, the creator of Microsoft’s augmented reality headset HoloLens, in an interview with Bloomberg. Kipman added that their augmented reality headset will soon take the place of smartphones everywhere. This was backed by a statement made by Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella that said they may be releasing phones “that don’t look like phones.”

    While these claims may sound a bit radical now, it’s not unlikely to happen in the near future. Aside from Microsoft, companies like Apple are also known to be performing studies on how to make better use of mixed reality in some of their projects. Details of the study and progress of their studies, however, have yet to be shared with the public.

    Microsoft is one of the tech brands who are more open about their standpoint on mixed reality and how it can be fully incorporated into some consumer devices. Currently, Microsoft is preparing to launch their latest operating system, the Windows 10 Creators Update, that is equipped with tools that are designed to “spark and unleash creativity” through the use of mixed reality and 3D content. These recent innovations will definitely highlight the need for mixed reality in some of our tasks like video editing, 3D painting, virtual learning, and more.

    In an interview with MarketPlace, Nadella revealed that while Microsoft is far from abandoning their mobile phone efforts, they are working on incorporating augmented reality into their newer mobile devices and software.

    While Microsoft’s Windows Phone global market share is down by 0.5%, statements both from Kipman and Nadella proves that the company is far from withdrawing from the race. With their Windows and hardware team now working together under one roof, Microsoft is certainly finding ways to improve the way they develop their devices in one seamless process.

    Microsoft is clearly hard at work as they continuously find ways to make mixed reality technology more accessible to the public. Alongside the release of their latest operating system, the company will also begin shipping mixed reality headsets for only $299. At that price, the company is offering one of the most affordable MR devices out there today.

    We can definitely see an increase in usage of mixed reality in the way we play, learn, and create. Only time will tell when we can start using this technology to make calls and send messages right from the palm of our hands.

  • Infographic: People Have Smaller Attention Spans Than Goldfish (Marketing Tips For Overcoming This)

    Infographic: People Have Smaller Attention Spans Than Goldfish (Marketing Tips For Overcoming This)

    Last year, Microsoft released some research finding that the average attention span for a goldfish is about nine seconds and that for people of the smartphone era, it’s even less than that at eight seconds. It’s somewhat troubling, but not all that surprising when you think about all the content being blasted at you every second from a device that you keep close by at all times.

    While marketers have more tools in their arsenals than ever, cutting through the noise (not to mention the content of substance) is no easy deed. Last fall, Wyzowl put together this infographic that takes this goldfish to human comparison into consideration and provides some advice on how to overcome the issue.

    While the infographic has been out there since October, it has been popping up in a few places in recent days, bringing it to our attention (I first saw it at Social Media Today).

    The eight-second rule for grabbing attention in videos is particularly interesting this week as Google just introduced a new six-second, unskippable video ad format.

    Images via iStock, Wyzowl

  • Google Increases File Size Limit For Android Apps

    Google announced that it’s increasing the APK file size limit for Android apps from 50MB to 100MB giving developers more room to work with in creating app experiences with less restriction.

    Google does warn, however, that just because you can now make an app bigger, that doesn’t necessarily mean you should. It reminds developers to consider things like mobile data connectivity, mobile data caps, app performance, and install time.

    “Smartphones are powerful devices that can support diverse tasks from graphically intensive games to helping people get work done from anywhere,” says Kobi Glick from the Google Play team. “We understand that developers are challenged with delivering a delightful user experience that maximizes the hardware of the device, while also ensuring that their users can download, install, and open the app as quickly as possible. It’s a tough balance to strike, especially when you’re targeting diverse global audiences.”

    “To support the growing number of developers who are building richer apps and games on Google Play, we are increasing the APK file size limit to 100MB from 50MB,” Glick adds. “This means developers can publish APKs up to 100MB in size, and users will see a warning only when the app exceeds the 100MB quota and makes use of Expansion Files. The default update setting for users will continue to be to auto-updating apps over Wi-Fi only, enabling users to access higher quality apps and games while conserving their data usage.”

    Google says it hopes the file size increase is useful and helps developers build higher quality apps and games. The thinking is, in fact, that the news really is all about games. Google has an event on Tuesday, which is expected to delve more into this as well as deliver a new Chromecast device.

    Image via Google

  • Apps Now Top Way People Consume Digital Media In US

    comSore has a new report out looking at mobile app usage in the U.S. It finds that it has become the top way people are consuming digital media, but interestingly, it has done so without damaging desktop or the mobile web.

    Take a look at the growth in digital time spent for desktop, mobile apps, and mobile browsers:

    Screen Shot 2015-09-24 at 9.27.05 AM

    Digital media usage is growing as a whole largely thanks to smartphones with tablets only accounting for 12% to smartphones’ 65%.

    Screen Shot 2015-09-24 at 9.29.04 AM

    What apps are they using? Mostly the ones you would expect.k Here’s how they stack up:

    Screen Shot 2015-09-24 at 9.30.24 AM

    The report states the obvious in that app usage is “reflexive,” with apps occupying the best home screen real estate being the most use.

    “Publishers must place more value on this real estate if they don’t want to lose out in the transition to mobile. A small slice of app users can contribute a lot of usage,” it says. “Millennials are the heaviest app users and they spend a lot of time on social media and other platforms. Publishers must have a well-developed platform strategy to get mobile traffic and find ways to convert app users.

    You can find the full 55-page report here. It’s free.

    Images via Wikimedia Commons, comScore

  • Facebook’s Apps Outrank Google’s In Most-Used Smartphone Apps List

    comScore released new data from its MobiLens and Mobile Metrix looking at U.S. smartphone trends in July. Apple ranked as the top manufacturer while Android led as the top platform.

    Here are the rankings for those categories:

    Screen Shot 2015-09-04 at 9.52.00 AM

    Screen Shot 2015-09-04 at 9.52.10 AM

    The app rankings are interesting because Facebook’s Messenger app has moved ahead of YouTube, putting the top two apps as Facebook-owned, ranking above the following three, which are Google’s. Facebook’s Instagram is further down the list at number nine.

    Screen Shot 2015-09-04 at 9.55.03 AM

    Altogether, Google has greater reach with YouTube, Google Search, Google Play, Google Maps, and Gmail, but it’s still interesting that Facebook now holds the top two spots.

    Images via Mark Zuckerberg, comScore

  • Have We Seen The Last Of Amazon’s Fire Phone?

    Have We Seen The Last Of Amazon’s Fire Phone?

    I’m sure I don’t have to tell you what a colossal failure Amazon’s Fire Phone was. Despite negative reviews and an overwhelming lack of consumer interest in the device, it had seemed as though Amazon would work to improve on the device with future models, but now it’s not looking so likely.

    After years of anticipation, Amazon finally unveiled its version of the modern smartphone last year. They had a big Apple-esque launch event and showed off some interesting features that other phones didn’t have. Unfortunately, they weren’t features that anybody particularly wanted and the device simply fell short compared to offerings from more established smartphone-makers.

    The reviews began to pour in, and the device was almost universally panned, though some of the more positive reviews were optimistic that Amazon could perhaps make major improvements through updates and future models.

    But the lack of interest really became clear when Amazon dropped the price of the device to 99 cents, and still nobody bought it.

    Last fall, an Amazon exec acknowledged the phone’s failure, but indicated future models would be on the way.

    Now, The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Amazon has laid off dozens of engineers from the unit that developed the phone, and that future phone development has been shelved. It says:

    At one point, the company planned a stripped-down Fire phone, but Amazon has stretched out its timeline for smartphone development indefinitely, people familiar with the matter said.
     
    Amazon has also halted or scaled back other development projects, according to people familiar with the situation, including a smart stylus internally called Nitro, which translates a users’ scribblings into digital shopping lists; a device dubbed Shimmer for projecting images on walls and other surfaces; and a tablet code-named Project Cairo, with a 14-inch screen.

    The Journal has more on where Amazon is focusing its hardware efforts, which include home devices and tablets.

    None of this necessarily means that we’ll never see Amazon take another shot at a smartphone again, but from the sound of it, it it’s not something we’ll be seeing in the foreseeable future.

    Image via Amazon (YouTube)

  • Nintendo Is Finally Going to Make Smartphone Games

    By the end of this year, you’ll be able to play a Nintendo game on your iPhone.

    Wading into a market its always been wary of, Nintendo is finally going to start producing smartphone games.

    The first one should be out by the end of 2015, and the company says it plans to make a total of five by March of 2017.

    “You may think it is a small number,” said Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata during an earnings call, “but when we aim to make each title a hit, and because we want to thoroughly operate every one of them for a significant amount of time after their releases, this is not a small number at all and should demonstrate our serious commitment to the smart device business.”

    “Even with highly popular IP, the odds of success are quite low if consumers cannot appreciate the quality of a game. Also, if we were simply to port software that already has a track record on a dedicated game system, it would not match the play styles of smart devices, and the appropriate business models are different between the two, so we would not anticipate a great result.”

    Translation: Nintendo’s not just going to throw a bunch of games against the wall and see what sticks. And it’s not just going to port already existing titles because they might such when played on a smartphone.

    Nintendo is taking this venture slow, and that’s no surprise considering how long it took them to even begin making games for the smartphone.

    Nintendo is also taking its massively popular characters to the real world. Nintendo and Universal Parks & Resorts just announced the creation of “spectacular, dedicated experiences based on Nintendo’s wildly popular games, characters and worlds” to Universal theme parks.

  • This Is What 90% Smartphone Penetration Looks Like

    This Is What 90% Smartphone Penetration Looks Like

    ComScore just released a new report on U.S. smartphone penetration – or, if you don’t like the sound of that, call it the percentage of a certain market using smartphones.

    Bottom line: everyone has a smartphone. Actually, about 77% – but that’s a whole lot. When you look at the younger generations, it’s even more staggering.

    “Millennials continue to be the pace-setters for smartphone adoption, with 18-24 year olds and 25-34 year olds both hovering around 90 percent adoption. While teens have historically had slower adoption rates than their slightly older counterparts, they have been making up ground quickly and are now at 85 percent,” says ComScore.

    Would you like to see what 90% smartphone penetration looks like? Here’s a recent performance on The TODAY Show, and speaking of penetration, it just so happens to be The Weeknd performing his track “Earned It” off the 50 Shades of Grey soundtrack.

    Ok, not everyone in the crowd is between the ages of 18 and 24, but the percentage of 13-17, 25-34, and 35-44-year-olds with smartphones isn’t far off that 90% mark:

    “When I was growing up in the 1980s, cable TV was still seen as something of a luxury and I remember that several of my childhood friends not having it in their households. By the time the 1990s rolled around, almost everyone I knew had cable. It wasn’t that cable had gotten any more affordable, it was just that what was happening on cable TV had grown as a part of our culture. At some point those who could afford cable TV and didn’t have it probably began to feel like they weren’t keeping up with the times,” says ComScore’s Andrew Lipsman.

    Precisely. If it’s not on Instagram, did it even f*cking happen?

  • Drunken iPhone/Android Debate Leads to Stabbing

    In wait, so you’re telling me it didn’t happen in Florida? news, two men wound up bloody after a fight over smartphone supremacy turned violent.

    I know you probably regret your argument with Mark last weekend. I mean, you guys were both a little drunk and it was a dumb thing to argue about. And though you probably feel guilty, it’s important to know that your fight could have been exponentially dumber.

    Take the two Tulsa, Oklahoma men who police say let an argument about iPhone and Android get a little too stabby.

    From Tulsa’s KTUL:

    Tulsa police say a woman found a man covered in blood, stumbling around the parking lot of the Evergreen Apartments around 1 a.m.

    When police arrived at the apartment complex, they learned that the roommates had been drinking and arguing over their mobile phones.

    Police say the two men broke beer bottles and stabbed each other with them. One of the men smashed a bottle over the back of the other man’s head.

    Police are unsure why an Android user would even bother trying to argue with an iPhone user, and are also unclear whether or not Steve Jobs would’ve been incredibly disappointed by the iPhone user’s actions.

    According to KJRH, no arrests were made. I guess being stabbed during an argument about $500 porn and Facebook machines is punishment enough.

    Image via Thinkstock

  • Apple Will Now Let You Trade in Your Android Phone

    Apple is expanding its “Reuse and Recycle” program it began in 2013. Starting now, in many locations, you can trade in non-Apple smartphones and receive credit toward the purchase of an iPhone.

    Individual Apple retail stores have changed the language about the program to read “get credit when you recycle your eligible iPhone, iPad, or select smartphone from another manufacturer.”

    According to 9to5 Mac, the new trade-in program is now available in the US, UK, France, and Italy.

    So, which non-Apple smartphones will the company let you trade in? Most Android devices and some Windows Phone and Blackberry devices as well. This includes phones from Sony, Samsung, Nokia, LG, and HTC (that’s not an exhaustive list). Apple has also opened up computer trade-ins to include PCs.

    If Apple determines your old device has monetary value, you’ll receive a gift card. If not, the company will still recycle it for you for free.

    Image via Houang Stephane, Flickr Creative Commons

  • Apple Is Literally Hitler, Says Chinese CEO

    It’s not uncommon to hear someone lash out at Apple for being restrictive, but this takes it to a whole other level.

    Chinese streaming platform Leshi TV, also known as LeTV, is expected to launch a smartphone next month. When you’re entering the smartphone market, one of your major competitors is Apple – so it makes sense that you’d want to explain why your device is better than the ever-popular iPhone. Hey, you might even want to take a shot at Apple. It’s a good way to grab headlines, if nothing else.

    Well, headlines have been grabbed. LeTV CEO Jia Yueting has compared Apple to Hitler. Yes, the _____ is Hitler theme is alive and well.

    The Verge first spotted Yueting’s post on his verified Weibo page. He posted a cartoon image of Hitler, with an Apple logo imposed on his red armband.

    Written across the top is “Crowdsourced, freedom vs arrogance, tyranny.”

    The rest of the text, loosely translated, says that iOS is a “closed-loop platform developers love to hate” because it “greatly curb[s] technological innovation, hinders industrial progress, and hurts the interest of users.”

    He calls Apple a “dusk empire.”

    Apple is literally Hitler. That sure is one way to get your point across. In other news, Apple’s CEO just said he would be giving his entire fortune away to charity.

    Image via Rob DiCaterino, Wikimedia Commons

  • Amazon Fire Phone Gets Even Cheaper, Somehow, for One-Day Promotion

    Amazon continues to find new and innovative ways to attempt to give away its safe-to-say-failed foray into the world of smartphones.

    The company is currently offering the Fire Phone, unlocked, for just $189. As you’re well aware, that’s cheaper than what most top-tier smartphones will run you if you agree to a two-year contract with a carrier.

    The price drop comes as part of Amazon’s daily deals, and will be available until 12am PST.

    This isn’t the first time Amazon has offered it up for a ridiculously low price. Back in November, the company ran a promotion for a $199 unlocked Fire Phone.

    And the phone is still just $0.99 with a two-year contract.

    So far, Amazon has sort of admitted it made a mistake with the smartphone.

    “We didn’t get the price right,” Amazon Senior Vice President of Devices David Limp said last year. “I think people come to expect a great value, and we sort of mismatched expectations. We thought we had it right. But we’re also willing to say, ‘we missed.’”

    But price wasn’t the only thing behind the Amazon Fire Phone’s abject failure. As a new report from Fast Company suggests, the device never really had a chance. As it turns out, nobody wanted an Amazon Fire Phone – and more importantly, nobody needed one.

    Image via Amazon

  • Gartner: Smartphone Sales Up 20% In Q3

    Smartphone sales grew 20% in the third quarter, according to a new report from Gartner. Sales in emerging markets saw the highest growth ever, though sales in Western Europe continued on the decline. Worldwide sales of mobile phones, in general, were flat during the quarter.

    Here’s a look at the market share by manufacturer:

    “Sales of feature phones declined 25 percent in the third quarter of 2014 because the difference in price between feature phones and low-cost Android smartphones is reducing further,” said Roberta Cozza, research director at Gartner.

    Smartphones accounted for 66% of the total mobile phone market in the third quarter, according to the firm.

    “Over the holidays we expect record sales of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus, but we should not underestimate the Chinese vendors and local brands,” said Annette Zimmermann, research director at Gartner. “Chinese players will continue to look at expanding in overseas emerging markets. In Europe prepaid country markets and attractive lost-cost LTE phones will also offer key opportunities for these brands.”

    Here’s a look at sales by platform:

    Gartner expects sales of smartphones to reach 1.2 billion units in 2014.

    Images via Gartner

  • Amazon Fire Phone Is Now Ridiculously Cheap, Even Without a Contract

    Amazon has once again made a price adjustment to its flagship smartphone, and it’s a pretty significant one.

    As of right now, you can buy an unlocked Amazon Fire Phone for $199. As you’re probably aware, that’s usually what customers pay for a top-tier smartphone when they also agree to a two-year contract with a carrier. The unlocked 32GB Fire Phone was originally priced at $649 and was most recently available for $449.

    This isn’t the first time Amazon has made a drastic cut to the Fire Phone’s price. Back in September, the company dropped it to 99 cents, with the two-year contract agreement. That was pretty significant, but $199 for a current-gen, unlocked smartphone is more than unusual.

    Amazon’s clearly trying to do everything it can to get people to buy its new phone. Reviews haven’t been great and sales have been even worse. Just a few weeks ago, the company flat out admitted that it made a mistake with the smartphone.

    “We didn’t get the price right,” Amazon Senior Vice President of Devices David Limp told Fortune. “I think people come to expect a great value, and we sort of mismatched expectations. We thought we had it right. But we’re also willing to say, ‘we missed.’ And so we corrected.”

    As the holiday shopping season gets underway, it’ll be interesting to see if Amazon can practically give them away.

    The Fire Phone sports a 4.7-inch display, and 2.2Ghz quad-core processor and a 13 MP camera. It also comes with a free year of Amazon Prime.

    Image via Amazon

  • People Are Now More Glued to Their Phones Than the TV

    Mobile devices have, for the first time, overtaken television in the fight for our eyeballs.

    According to a report from Flurry, using data from comScore and the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Americans now spend 177 minutes per day, on average, on their mobile devices. That’s nine minutes more on average than they spend watching TV.

    Compare that to the beginning of this year, when Americans spent 162 minutes per day on their mobile devices but 168 minutes glued to the TV.

    Of course, “glued” to the TV might not be entirely accurate. Americans are surely not spending nearly three hours a day on their phones and then more than two and a half hours watching TV. Anyone with a smartphone knows that there has to be some overlap. When’s the last time you watching a couple hours of TV without looking as your phone or tablet as well?

    Flurry agrees, but still notes the impressive shift in consumer attention.

    “While we don’t have a way to measure the overlap in time spent, other than our own families’ experiences, we believe that there is plenty of overlap between the time spent on TV and that on mobile devices. It is a tall order to believe that the smart device (and app) industry, which didn’t exist six and half years ago, can take out an industry entrenched in every American household since the middle of the last century. But it has happened. Smart devices are practical, and are glued to consumers 24/7/365. Those factors, combined with the content explosion on these devices through millions of apps, helped mobile snatch the big prize from television. As of September 2014, it is a new world in the American living room,” says the company.

    Still, TV isn’t dead. For the past two and a half years boob tube viewing has been steady. In Q1 of 2012, we watched 168 minutes of TV a day, and in Q3 2014, we also watch 168 minutes on average.

    Over the past two years, our devices have been pulling more and more of our attention. Remember how we’re now spending nearly three hours a day buried in our phones? Just a couple years ago we weren’t even spending a full two hours. In the past couple of years, your mobile devices have stolen more than an hour of your daily time.

    How do you feel about that?

    Image via Thinkstock