Roughly half a dozen new mobile operating systems will come to market over the next 6 to 12 months. Many of these look to be more sophisticated than the older ones controlled by Apple and Google, for whom serious competition could be just around the corner. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
China may be Apple’s next frontier for smartphone growth, but the company has some catching up to do. Android handsets that cost one-third of the iPhone have taken the market by storm: Android now accounts for 90.1 percent of the smartphone market in China. Read more »
Nokia sold a quarter fewer of its flagship smartphones last quarter, as retailers and carriers shied away from Lumia’s current generation, leaving Nokia with €120 million in spare parts. Shifting to new Lumias with the Windows Phone 8 software has hurt any momentum Nokia had. Read more »
App developers are the cornerstones of the multibillion-dollar app market, but the overall community remains largely unknown. As app downloads increase, organizations that can bring tools, resources, and a collective voice to this group will be an important factor in the evolution of mobile-app development. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Whether it’s the iPhone 5, the importance of LTE, or BYOD trends disrupting the enterprise, there are always technologies, trends, and companies changing the way we define mobile. Here are some noteworthy segments to watch in the coming months, from location-based shopping to apps to wireless networks. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
In the five years since the iPhone hit the market, Apple and Google have delivered more than 40 billion cumulative downloads of apps. Other sources predict the app marketplace will swell to surpass 66 billion downloads in 2016, a growth fueled by tablet, entertainment, and enterprise apps. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Overall handset sales slumped last quarter as consumers face economic challenges or are waiting for newer phone models. But Android keeps outpacing iOS devices while handsets from Research In Motion and Nokia continue to drop, although Windows Phone is showing signs of sales life. Read more »
With billions in losses coming each quarter, it feels as if Nokia’s living on borrowed time. While many people expect Microsoft to step in and purchase the struggling Finnish handset giant, that may be unlikely. So here are five ways it might turn things around. Read more »
Apple and Google still dominate the smartphone space, but look out for Microsoft, which finally has some muscle behind its mobile strategy. Meanwhile mobile-browser developers went head-to-head with native apps, and Facebook continued to buy mobile expertise via acquisition. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
In this week’s audio podcast, Matt and Kevin share hands-on insights with the Galaxy S III, Nexus 7 tablet and Nokia PureView 808 phone. Plus some impressions of Android 4.1, also known as Jelly Bean: It’s sweet! Plus some thoughts on the $99 Motorola Atrix HD. Read more »
Smartphone sales surged both in the U.S. and worldwide, carriers struggled to cope with the ever-increasing consumption of mobile data, and the fight for spectrum remained front and center in the first quarter. Our latest quarterly wrap-up analyzes these trends and more. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Saavn has been hailed as India’s Spotify. But with much of its customer base being in India and much of its catalog being Bollywood fare, things work a little different for the company. One example: Saavn has high hopes for its Blackberry and Symbian apps. Read more »
Cloud computing, mobile computing and the consumerization of IT combine to create another force that overwhelms IT departments: complexity, including complexity of devices and applications, physical and virtual computing environments, and related challenges for IT staff. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Nokia released the Belle software upgrade for its recent Symbian phones on Tuesday, bringing additional home screens, much improved notifications and other features. The rollout is a day ahead of schedule, showing that Nokia is starting to make good on promises to deliver on time. Read more »
Microsoft may have finally accomplished something it has failed to do at the last six Consumer Electronics Show events I’ve attended: It has people talking about its phones. Even with few product launches announced at CES, there’s good reason for the Windows Phone buzz. Read more »
The last four years have shown remarkable growth in smartphone ownership, changing the mobile landscape as the phone becomes central to our lives. This year I’ll be looking for cross-platform apps, centralized notification services and solutions that intelligently handle more mundane tasks around my smart home. Read more »
The past year in mobile has been even more eventful than most of us would have predicted. Our appetite for mobile data grew dramatically; Google’s Android continued its march to worldwide dominance; Amazon joined the tablet bandwagon; and AT&T tried and failed to acquire T-Mobile USA, among many other things. All of that activity lays the groundwork for a very promising — and very challenging — 2012. This research note serves both as a review of the major trends and events of 2011 as well as a forecast for the coming year. Companies mentioned in this report include Millennial Media, Quattro Wireless and Samsung. For a full list of companies, and to read the full research note, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »
Some pretty damning early statistics out today for Nokia (NYSE: NOK), Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) and the Lumia 800: according to a new survey, i… Read more at paidContent »
Everyone knows that Nokia’s Symbian always had little take-up in the U.S.. But, once upon a time, Nokia (NYSE: NOK) could count on a large u… Read more at paidContent »
We’ve observed a lot of western companies looking to cash in on the explosive growth of China’s mobile population by taking their products i… Read more at paidContent »
Nokia’s sales of Windows Phone handsets aren’t impressing at least one analyst, who has drastically cut quarterly estimates from 2 million to 500,000 sales. With the two-horse race between Google Android and Apple iOS, it’s tough for Nokia to gain traction, even with outstanding hardware. Read more »
One in every two smartphones sold in the world is an Android device, according to Gartner, which said that Google’s mobile platform has doubled its share in the past year and surged to a 52.5 percent smartphone market share worldwide in the third quarter. Read more »
Samsung’s competitive threat to Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) and Nokia (NYSE: NOK) in the smartphone space — being played out not only among consumer… Read more at paidContent »
Another loose end being tied up by Nokia (NYSE: NOK) today. The company announced that Accenture has now fully taken over Symbian, the opera… Read more at paidContent »
The race in mobile has defaulted to Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android operating systems, but that hasn’t stopped Samsung from thinking about open-sourcing Bada, or Microsoft from pushing ahead with Windows Phone 7 and a partnership with Nokia. But do we need another mobile OS? Read more »
There’s talk today of Samsung open-sourcing its Bada smartphone platform next year, but the company has little to gain and much to lose if it does. Why give up control of the one asset Samsung has that no successful handset maker outside of Apple enjoys? Read more »
Symbian’s not quite dead yet for Nokia. In fact, ever since the company decided to use Windows Phone 7 as a primary platform going forward, Symbian has matured quite quickly. The latest addition? Microsoft Office software that enterprises and business users are sure to like. Read more »
No, Microsoft (NSDQ: MSFT) and Nokia (NYSE: NOK) have not picked up the pace on releasing the first Nokia/Microsoft smartphone, which is onl… Read more at paidContent »
Nokia introduced the next major version of its Symbian platform, called Belle, on Wednesday, in addition to three new handsets that will run it. Although there’s some innovation, particular around NFC support, Belle will look familiar to Android owners: more homescreens, better widgets and pull-down notifications. Read more »
When it comes to mobile advertising at least, men and women tend to differ. According to a new infographic from mobile advertising and marketing firm inneractive released Monday, men are more likely to click on mobile ads, and also more likely to be Android users. Read more »
Nokia’s decision to use Windows Phone 7 going forward disappointed many Symbian smartphone fans, but the company continues to support the community, releasing the Symbian Anna software update Thursday. Improvements abound in Anna, even as Belle, the next iteration, was leaked on video earlier this week. Read more »
Nokia’s transition to Microsoft Windows Phone 7 will cost Nokia far more market share and profits than it will ever gain by dumping the Symbian operating system, according to Tomi Ahonen, an ex-Nokia employee turned analyst. But his blame on Stephen Elop, Nokia’s CEO, is unfounded. Read more »
Fujitsu is launching a smartphone that doubles as a handheld Windows 7 computer. While the idea of a full computer in your pocket sounds attractive, this device strikes me as the worst possible combination of brands for a mobile device that runs for two hours. Read more »
Nokia’s abysmal quarterly results weren’t completely unexpected, thanks to a downward revision in May. But after digesting the news, I don’t see how the company’s new strategies will pay off soon, for at least five reasons. The Band-Aid is off, but Nokia is still bleeding. Read more »
Walking the smartphone tightrope was always going to be tough for Nokia, stuck between its struggling Symbian platform and upcoming Windows Phone models. But after warnings about its performance, the company has now revealed its numbers for the last three months — and they don’t look good. Read more »
With its latest ad format, Vdopia will enable brands to deliver video ads into mobile browser and apps on multiple mobile platforms. These platforms includes the iPhone, iPad, Android and Blackberry mobile devices, with Windows Phone 7 and Symbian support coming soon. Read more »
Just last week we saw an early glimpse of Skype’s upcoming iPad app, but today Fring appears to be one step ahead of the game. Fring’s iOS app was updated today to provide iPad-optimized four-way group video calling, before Skype is even out of the gate. Read more »
Research firm IDC reiterated that it expects Windows Phone 7 to soar to number two by 2015 with 20 percent of the market, trailing only Android. But with the market moving so fast and competition so fierce, predictions like this seem premature. Read more »
Nokia’s CTO has left with no timetable for a return. The wheels continue to fall off for the company, which is skidding down the road solely due to momentum, which is slowing. Like a modern retro car, however, Microsoft gives Nokia a chance to survive. Read more »
