GigaOM » Galaxy S III

The year-old iPhone 4S was world’s 2nd most popular smartphone in Q4

Erica Ogg — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 14:40:19 +0000

We know Apple sold 37 million iPhones during the fourth quarter of 2012, but a new report gives more fine-grain detail to sales of its top two models. The iPhone 5, which debuted in September, rose to become the best-selling smartphone in the world on the strength of 27.4 million units sold, or 13 percent of all shipments, according to Strategy Analytics’ Handset Country Share Tracker published on Wednesday. The year-old iPhone 4S was the second-most popular smartphone, with 17.4 million units sold. And both models beat out Samsung’s Galaxy S III juggernaut, which after five months of availability, sold 15.4 million units during the fourth quarter.

Credit: Strategy Analytics

While Apple investors continue to worry that the iPhone’s relatively smaller screen and higher price prevent it from attracting more customers, the iPhone seems to be having one of its best moments. Wednesday’s report follows a previous one from the same firm, published earlier this month, that found the iPhone was for the first time ever the best-selling mobile phone in the U.S.

But what may be more interesting than the iPhone 5′s stats is the sustained popularity of the iPhone 4S, which was released in October 2011. These numbers serve as evidence that a significant chunk of Apple’s customers are more interested in a lower price — $99 with a two-year contract — than the absolute latest in tech and design Apple offers. You could also use it as an argument against Apple making a new model cheaper iPhone, since it essentially already has one in the 4S.

For its part, Samsung is reportedly set to release its follow-up to the Galaxy S III, the Galaxy S IV, in March, so this picture may very well change over the next several quarters.

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Verizon preps Android 4.1, Isis support for Galaxy S III

Kevin C. Tofel — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 20:02:19 +0000

Got a Samsung Galaxy S III on Verizon’s network? Starting on Friday, the carrier will begin rolling out the long awaited Jelly Bean software update to your handset. A number of new and improved features are part of the update including one specific to mobile payments. After this update, Verizon’s Galaxy S III will be the next phone ready for the Isis mobile payment network, although it will require a new SIM card and special software to use.

Although this won’t be the most current version of Android — Verizon customers are getting Android 4.1, not 4.2 — the Jelly Bean software brings many useful features including Google Now, improvements to Samsung’s S-Voice software, expandable notifications, a Swype keyboard option, and resizeable widgets. Also part of the update are the following:

Device is enabled for Global Roaming in over 205 countries worldwide
Improved connectivity and reliability when syncing Google and POP-3 e-mail accounts.
Enhancements made to improve accuracy of predictive text.
Automatic Set Up option has been enabled when setting up a Road Runner email account.
Improved accuracy and reliability of Weather application.
Visual Voicemail has been updated to ensure proper delivery of notifications.
Fixed resets that were sometimes seen when trying to connect to a VPN client.
Support for opening attachments in .ics format.
Now supports Software Upgrade Assistant; installs and runs automatically when plugged in to your computer’s USB port.
Missed Call Log has been updated to ensure accuracy.
Enhancements have been made to ensure the reliability of Back Up Assistant Plus.
Improvements made to automatically reconnect to known previously used Wi-Fi hot spots.
Verizon Accessories Application has been added as a preload.

It’s a shame that Verizon isn’t pushing out Android 4.2, but the scope of changes from 4.0 to 4.1 are much bigger. While some Galaxy S III owners will still be pining for the latest version of Android, this version will surely make a good phone even better.

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Android this week: Snapseed arrives; Galaxy S III update coming; PC-less MP3 is here

Kevin C. Tofel — Sat, 08 Dec 2012 14:40:50 +0000

Just three months after Google purchased the developer of last year’s top app in the iTunes store, the company debuted Snapseed for Android this week. The photo editor makes it quick and easy to edit photos on an Android phone or tablet, making for vastly improved images with just a few finger swipes. A one-touch sharing button shoots edited pictures to Google+ for sharing as well.

The free software offers the typical filters that are common in many photo apps, but also makes it simple to adjust image attributes in real-time: brightness, contrast, saturation and more. Snapseed’s interface is the touch-friendly secret sauce, however.

You choose attributes by sliding up or down on the display while moving left to right boosts or reduces the chosen effect. Advanced users will enjoy the software’s Selective Adjust feature, which focuses on your specific choice of object for modifications: You can easily adjust the color of a background, for example, without affecting other image elements.

Samsung was in the news this week with details and a video overview of the Premium Suite software update for its Galaxy S III. The company’s best-selling smartphone will gain many of the useful features already found in the Galaxy Note 2, including the unique multi-window support. This function supports two mobile applications running simultaneously on the display, enabling true multitasking features on a mobile device.

A companion device for the Samsung Galaxy III, as well as a few other recent Galaxy phones, debuted this week as well. The Samsung Muse is a 4 GB MP3 player that looks like a small stone. There’s no display on the device, just a clip, headphone jack and touch buttons to control playback.

What makes the $49 Muse interesting then? It gets music from a phone, not a PC. By connecting the Muse to a supported handset that has the free Muse Sync app installed, users can sync audio files to the player.

This may not sound too impressive, but it represents a subtle yet important change to mobile device dependence on computers. Android phones have always been considered “cloud devices” that don’t require a PC to be used. The Muse illustrates how portable music players can cut the PC cord as well, even without any radios for connectivity.

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A good phone gets better: multi-window apps for Galaxy S III

Kevin C. Tofel — Fri, 07 Dec 2012 14:36:23 +0000

Samsung shared details of its Premium Suite software upgrade for the Galaxy S III handset on Friday, highlighting seven new features for the company’s best-selling handset. Many are already available on the Galaxy Note 2, where they benefit from the bigger screen. Perhaps surprisingly, however, Samsung is bringing the unique multi-window function to the smaller screen of the Galaxy S III: After the update, running two applications on the display at one time will be possible.

What makes the multi-window function useful in my experience with a Galaxy Note 2 is that both apps are fully functioning; one isn’t suspended while the other is active for example. That means you can be watching an active Twitter timeline on one side of the screen while browsing the web, watching a video or updating your Facebook status on the other. Samsung demonstrates it in this video, which covers some of the Premium Suite features for its Galaxy S III.

Additional functionality in the premium Suite includes Page Buddy, which are specific home pages that dynamically open upon certain circumstances. Plug in your headphones and the music player will appear, for example. Frequently used applications can be set to show in your app list. And a Facebook ticker can be added to the Galaxy S III lock screen, saving time if you’re a Facebook addict. Plus, a new Reader mode looks to show content on a web page without ads or other non-relevant information while also supporting customized font sizes.

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Apple, Samsung continue escalating patent fight

Erica Ogg — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 15:10:53 +0000

Apple’s abrupt settlement of its mobile patent suit with HTC followed by the revelation that it is seeking arbitration with Motorola made it seem as though Apple was looking for a way to wind down the patent suits that have engulfed the company for more than two years. But its dispute with Samsung is a different story. The companies don’t act like they’re looking for a truce: instead, they are reloading with more ammunition.

The ammunition in their case is, of course, more products to sue each other over. In the last few days, both companies have added to ongoing lawsuits more products, which they each claim violate mobile patents they own. Apple just asked the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California to amend its lawsuit with six new Samsung mobile devices: the Galaxy S III, Galaxy Note II, Galaxy Tab 8.9 Wi-Fi, Galaxy Tab 2 10.1, Rugby Pro and Galaxy III Mini.

That came just after Samsung asked that its claims against Apple also now include the latest Apple mobile devices, including the new iPad mini, fourth-generation iPad and latest iPod touch model. Should any of these products be found to infringe on one another’s patents, the end goal is to get them blocked from sale in the U.S. The trial is scheduled for March 2014.

After HTC made a deal with Apple, Samsung’s head of mobile felt compelled to say publicly that his company had no intention of settling with Apple. That seemed rather obvious, considering how far the two companies had come, including a recent billion-dollar verdict for Apple. Both sides remain on the attack, matching each other’s legal moves tit for tat, which demonstrates that neither side is looking to retreat. Even if Apple CEO Tim Cook is far more practical and less emotional than his predecessor when it comes to these matters, the Samsung fight is arguably still different than its other patent suits.

As John Gruber noted over at Daring Fireball, the stakes of this fight are incredibly high: Apple and Samsung are the only two companies reaping any significant profits in the mobile space right now. Though Apple under Cook might view these patent fights as “overhead,” with Samsung it’s a necessary expense right now.

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Grace Digital’s gdock speaker rocks a Galaxy Note 2 and more

Kevin C. Tofel — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 14:36:20 +0000

Unlike Apple’s iPhone, there are relatively few third-party accessories for Google Android phones. Why? While the iPhone has a standardized dock port on the bottom — which recently changed with new iOS devices — Android devices come in hundreds of shapes and sizes so there’s no standardization across the line. But Samsung has been fairly consistent of late and that’s why Grace Digital can make a speaker dock for the company’s Galaxy handsets.

The gdock is a $129 speaker that charges a Samsung phone during music playback. An optional rechargeable battery allows the gdock to leave home, but the device won’t charge on a phone when running on battery power. Grace Note’s gdock takes advantage of Samsung’s phone design over the past two years. It supports the Galaxy S II, Galaxy S III, Galaxy Note, and Galaxy Note II because all four phones have a micro-USB port on the bottom.

Don’t expect massive sound out of the gdock, but it does have a respectable 16 Watt amplifier and 60Hz – 18KHz +/-3dB frequency response, which ought to sound much better than the integrated speaker in a Galaxy smartphone. An included remote control allows for tweaking bass, treble, volume and input. That last bit is important because the gdock has an auxiliary input jack for piping sound from another source as well.

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Why only Samsung builds phones that can outsell an iPhone

Kevin C. Tofel — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 16:40:22 +0000

For the first time in years, one single handset model has reportedly outsold the iPhone. Strategy Analytics says that more Samsung Galaxy S III phones than Apple iPhone 4S handsets were sold in third quarter of this year. Samsung moved 18 million such handsets while Apple sold 16.2 million during the three month period, says the research firm. It should be noted that Samsung’s figures represent shipments, not actual sales, but there’s a bigger point to be made here: Samsung is currently the only company that can even come close to competing with Apple when it comes to smartphones.

Sales vs shipments

Before explaining why, here’s a closer look at the data. Apple’s figures represent actual sales while Samsung’s numbers reflect the shipments of Galaxy S III handsets to carriers. That means if a carrier has an unsold Galaxy S III on the store shelf, it counts in this comparison. As a result, the Samsung figures of actual sales are lower than shipments. And if you were to count the 6 million iPhone 5 shipments in the Strategy Analytics report, Apple would outpace Samsung: 26.2 million to 18 million. However, in the big picture, that doesn’t matter.

Fewer phone models is a smart strategy

Back in 2010, I noted that Samsung was taking an Apple-like strategy for its smartphone business. At the time, Samsung offered the first Galaxy S handset running Google Android and Samsung’s own TouchWiz user interface. Instead of multiple handset models offered, Samsung decided to focus on one handset for its flagship phone. Others, such as Motorola and HTC, for example, opted for a slew of handsets; each similar but yet different. With one phone model — just like Apple — Samsung benefits from production scale, common components, and similar experience for its Galaxy phone owners.

I revisited this topic again a year later when Samsung was about to surpass Nokia as the top seller of smartphones worldwide. I explained why Samsung was about to become the new smartphone king, pointing out even more reasons for the company’s rapid smartphone success. Samsung then debuted a successor flagship phone, the Galaxy S II, and it set a sales record: 1 million sales in the first 70 days of launch.

Even more so than Apple, Samsung controls parts

Here’s the thing: Inside the Galaxy S, the Galaxy S II, and now the Galaxy S III, are various hardware components manufactured directly by Samsung. The company makes its own chips to power phones, Super AMOLED handset displays and flash memory for internal storage.

Apple controls its iPhone hardware as well but not directly: It designs the chips for iOS devices, for example, which someone else builds and it often invests billions of dollars in component manufacturing plants in return for good pricing and primary production capacity. Aside from Samsung and Apple, who else can manage the component supply chain this well? Not Nokia, Motorola, HTC, LG or any other smartphone competitor I can think of.

Apple is using that manufacturing edge to produce more units with each new iPhone as well. That’s important because it helps Apple introduce its smartphone in more countries and on more carriers as soon as possible after launch. Guess what: When Samsung introduced the Galaxy S III this year in May, it said it would begin sales in Europe with 145 additional countries soon after. Not two weeks later, five U.S. carriers launched the device; a vast difference in the Galaxy S II launch, where the U.S. didn’t see the phone for six months or more, for example.

Apple wrote the playbook and Samsung is executing it

With each Galaxy smartphone iteration, Samsung continues to follow the Apple-like approach of controlling its own destiny as much as possible. Other competitors simply aren’t equipped to do so. So while Apple may have created the playbook for smartphone success, Samsung has replicated it more so than any other in this market. That actually shouldn’t surprise if you’ve followed the Apple v. Samsung trials: The courts have already found in favor of Apple for Samsung’s replication of certain smartphone design, features and functions.

Again, we can bicker over the definitions of sales and shipments, but I’m not sure that matters unless you want to declare a real “winner” today. More important to me is that Apple finally has some real competition in the market, even though it looks to be just one true competitor.

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MobileTechRoundup podcast 279: Pricing for iPad Mini, Windows RT

Kevin C. Tofel — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 00:48:26 +0000

MoTR 279 is 63 minutes long and is a 34 MB file in MP3 format.

CLICK HERE to download the file and listen directly.

HOSTS: Matthew Miller (Seattle) and Kevin C. Tofel (Philadelphia)

TOPICS:

iPod touch has arrived — first impressions
First Windows RT tablets available for pre-order: $599 to start, docks/keyboards extra? Ugh.
Galaxy S III Mini – Samsung going to the well once too often or a good idea?
Jelly Bean on GS III – Matt has it!
US Federal Court reverses Galaxy Nexus ban that impacted universal search
Is LG making the next Nexus?
Nokia announces “exclusive” Lumia 810 for T-Mobile
Amazon Kindle Paperwhites in hand
iPad Mini event Oct 23? Kevin’s interest is waning. Price thoughts?

CONTACT US: Email us or leave us a voicemail on our SkypeLine!

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Android this week: Nexus 4 leaks; Galaxy S III Mini’d; Opera Mobile

Kevin C. Tofel — Sat, 13 Oct 2012 13:00:26 +0000

Anticipation for the next Google Android Nexus phone continues to rise and this week, nearly all of the details were leaked out. Russian site Onliner has published several articles showing the alleged Nexus 4, complete with specs, photos and an early review. If Onliner’s information is correct, the new Nexus is loosely based upon LG’s Optimus G but still looks similar to last year’s Galaxy Nexus.

Here’s what the Russian site says makes up the phone: a 4.7-inch IPS display with 1280 x 768 resolution, 8 megapixel camera, 1.5 GHz quad-core Snapdragon processor, 2 GB of memory and only 8 GB of storage capacity. While some of those specifications sound like small upgrades, I’m inclined to believe them and this is why my upgrade strategy has been to skip every other Nexus device. I’ll be doing the same this time around — sticking with my Galaxy Nexus — if the alleged LG Nexus specs are accurate.

In a similar vein, speculation had run rampant on the Galaxy S III Mini for several weeks prior, but Samsung quelled all rumors by launching the device this week. Yes it’s a smaller version of Samsung’s successful Galaxy S III smartphone, but many in the tech world seem disappointed by the diminished hardware capabilities. Gone is the high-resolution display to be replaced by an 800 x 480 pixel screen. A 1 GHz dual-core processor, slower HSPA radio and 5 megapixel camera are also inside.

Some had hoped that this would be a 4-inch version of the flagship phone: Highly capable hardware in a slightly smaller package. I can understand the disappointment here. However, Samsung’s Galaxy S III isn’t accessible to every budget around the world and I see the Mini as a smart strategy to get those folks familiar with the Galaxy line for less. We’ll see if that bet pays of over time as Samsung shares sales figures.

Whatever Android device you use, chances are rather large that you surf the web on it. Opera Mobile for Android saw a software update this week and it’s well worth the download. This version includes a wider range of HTML 5 support as well as SPDY, a protocol to help speed up page load times. Based on my hands on time, Opera Mobile is pretty quick indeed and even though I’m embedded in Google’s Chrome browser across all of my devices, Opera Mobile has found a place on my Android phone.

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Web traffic: iPhone 5 wins but Galaxy S III holds its own

Kevin C. Tofel — Fri, 12 Oct 2012 15:06:32 +0000

Just a few weeks after the iPhone 5 launched, it’s already pulling it more web traffic than Samsung’s Galaxy S III smartphone according to one specific measure. Mobile advertiser Chitika shared data on Friday showing that in a review of web traffic on sites that use Chitika’s ad network, the iPhone 5 accounts for 56 percent of the total web traffic volume compared to 44 percent from the Galaxy S III; a phone that launched five months ago.

In a blog post sharing the data, Chitika suggests that businesses targeting mobile users should still favor iOS due to iPhone owners browsing more than their Galaxy S III counterparts. What explains the different in web traffic between the two devices? “Record-breaking sales numbers, along with new 4G browsing speeds which encourage data usage, are the most likely explanation for this tremendous growth,” says Chitika. I’m not sold on the 4G LTE support as a huge influence here though: Samsung’s Galaxy S III launched with LTE support in U.S. markets, just as the new iPhone 5 did.

Normally, these types of web usage studies show iPhones exceeding that of Android devices, so I’m not questioning the data. In fact, where Chitika sees the data as a bad sign for Samsung, I’d counter that to a degree, it’s actually not so bad. Why? Because this is the first time I can remember seeing a single Android handset model being even close to competitive to Apple’s iPhone in any statistical research. Android as a whole exceeds iPhone sales but Apple fans are quick to point out that no single phone can compete. At least one does now.

Regardless of whether you see the glass half full or half empty, I asked Chitika for additional data on the top mobile sites that both phone groups were browsing. I’m curious if some of them are simply more popular and geared towards one platform or the other that could be adding weight to either phone.

Chitika couldn’t provide the specifics due to contractual agreements with advertisers but said:

[B]e assured that our network is composed of hundreds of thousands of publishers within the United States across a diverse set of verticals. As such, our network studies are a representative sample of U.S. Internet behavior.

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