According to the latest research from Strategy Analytics, global tablet shipments reached 27 million units in the fourth quarter of 2011. Android jumped to a record 39 percent global share, while Apple iOS maintained its strong leadership at 58 percent.
Peter King, Director at Strategy Analytics, said, “Global tablet shipments reached an all-time high of 26.8 million units in Q4 2011, surging 150 percent from 10.7 million in Q4 2010. Demand for tablets among consumer, business and education users remains strong. Apple shipped a robust 15.4 million iPads worldwide and maintained its strong market leadership with 58 percent share during the fourth quarter of 2011. Apple shrugged off the much-hyped threat from entry-level Android models this quarter.”
Neil Mawston, Executive Director at Strategy Analytics, added, “Android captured a record 39 percent share of global tablet shipments in Q4 2011, rising from 29 percent a year earlier. Global Android tablet shipments tripled annually to 10.5 million units. Dozens of Android models distributed across multiple countries by numerous brands such as Amazon, Samsung, Asus and others have been driving volumes. Android is so far proving relatively popular with tablet manufacturers despite nagging concerns about fragmentation of Android’s operating system, user-interface and app store ecosystem.”
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CompanionLink Software announces two-way synchronization of contacts, calendar, tasks and memos between popular CRM databases and the new Motorola DROID RAZR MAXX from Verizon. CompanionLink syncs the DROID RAZR MAXX with Microsoft Outlook, Sage ACT!, Palm Desktop, IBM Lotus Notes, Novell GroupWise, Highrise, and more.
The DROID RAZR MAXX is a slim, yet powerful Android smartphone. It features a 1.2GHz dual-core processor, a 4.3” screen, and a high-capacity 3300 mAh battery which translates to over 20 hours of talk time on a single charge. Despite its many advantages, the RAZR MAXX lacks built-in functionality to sync with CRM and contact managers link Microsoft Outlook. CompanionLink offers four ways to sync the Motorola DROID RAZR – direct USB sync, local Wi-Fi sync, a secure hosted wireless sync service, and wireless sync via Google. To help you make the right choice, CompanionLink’s website recommends the best sync option for each specific setup.
CompanionLink 5 starts at $49.95 per user license. A 14-day free trial is also available. CompanionLink offers free email and telephone support, free updates and a 90-day money back guarantee on all products. |
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Viggle, a Function(x) company, today announced that its first free app is now available in the iTunes App Store. Viggle works with iOS devices such as iPhone, iPad and iPod touch and rewards people with gift cards, movie tickets, music and more for checking into TV shows using its proprietary show matching feature. The company, founded by media and entertainment entrepreneur Robert F.X. Sillerman, also announced a number of strategic launch partners including Verizon, Pepsi, Gatorade, Burger King Corporation and Capital One.
“We’re excited that Viggle is now in the hands of passionate TV viewers,” said Chris Stephenson, president of Function(x). “And, we’re lucky to be working with networks and brands who really understand the connection people have with the shows they love. Everyone wins here—consumers get rewarded for their loyalty and networks and brand partners are able to connect with Viggle users in relevant and meaningful ways.”
“At USA, we are committed to expanding the ways our fans engage with great content beyond their TV viewing experience,” said Jesse Redniss, senior vice president, digital, USA Network. “By connecting to Viggle, we are able to offer access to more compelling engagement, participation and affinity rewards that extend our viewers’ access across multiple touch points.” |
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HP began executing its plan to deliver an open webOS by committing to a schedule for making the platform's source code available under an open source license.
The company aims to complete this milestone in its entirety by September.
HP also announced it is releasing version 2.0 of webOS's innovative developer tool, Enyo. Enyo 2.0 enables developers to write a single application that works across mobile devices and desktop web browsers, from the webOS, iOS and Android platforms to the Internet Explorer and Firefox browsers -- and more. The source code for Enyo is available today, giving the open source community immediate access to the acclaimed application framework for webOS.
By contributing webOS to the open source community, HP unleashes the creativity of hardware and software developers to build a new generation of applications and devices.
"HP is bringing the innovation of the webOS platform to the open source community," said Bill Veghte, executive vice president and chief strategy officer, HP. "This is a decisive step toward meeting our goal of accelerating the platform's development and ensuring that its benefits will be delivered to the entire ecosystem of web applications." | |
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Vringo, Inc., a provider of software platforms for mobile social and video applications, today announced the company is expanding its Facetones app functionality to enable a dynamic slideshow generated from Facebook pictures when receiving incoming text messages. This new feature complements Vringo's existing Facetones technology, which generates the same mobile social experience each time a user makes or receives a phone call.
"We are excited to introduce an entirely new dimension of functionality to our increasingly popular Facetones application," said Jon Medved, CEO of Vringo. "This new messaging platform will allow us to participate in the massive mobile messaging market, which ranks second in mobile revenue only to voice."
Andrew Perlman, President of Vringo said, "Texting is a vital part of the mobile social experience and we believe the fun and exciting experience of getting an automatic full screen slideshow of a friend's latest pictures when receiving a text will help define the future of mobile experiences and add a surprising new social component to the growing legions of avid texters in the United States and around the world." | |
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The number of Californians using their mobile device to access the Internet has significantly increased by 51 percent, to nearly 17.6 million people, in the last three years, according to a new report by the Center for Strategic Economic Research (CSER). Of California mobile users surveyed in the first quarter of 2011, 71.3 percent are accessing the Internet or apps using their mobile device.
“In just three years, California has experienced a pronounced shift in how we use mobile devices. Just a short time ago, mobile devices were primarily used for phone conversations, but today we are seeing a greater share of mobile users accessing the Internet via their mobile device,” said CSER Director Ryan Sharp.
Regions experiencing the largest increases in mobile advanced data users include:
- Bakersfield – 100 percent increase
- Santa Barbara – 85 percent increase
- Sacramento – 75 percent increase
- Stockton – 64 percent increase
- Fresno – 59 percent increase
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A new report from analyst firm Juniper Research forecasts that shipments of Ultrabooks will grow at three times the rate of tablets over the next five years. However, tablets volume will remain higher, with 253 million shipped in 2016, compared with 178 million Ultrabooks.
Biting Back Against Apple
The report finds that while vendors have quickly responded to Apple's launch of the iPad with an array of competing products, the industry has been slow to respond to 2008's Macbook Air; leading vendors only launched the first Ultrabooks -- a new category in mobile computing driven by the world's largest semiconductor manufacturer, Intel -- in late 2011.
Balancing the Ultrabook Load
While the market is bursting with new products post-CES, a number of challenges remain for the industry. As we have seen in the tablet market, without products which are significantly differentiated from those of Apple in terms of price and features, gaining traction for its competitors is a difficult value proposition. Furthermore, Intel's Ultrabook specs bring their own challenges.
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The DROID RAZR MAXX by Motorola will be available on Jan. 26 in Verizon Wireless Communications Stores and online at www.verizonwireless.com for $299.99 with a new two-year customer agreement. At just 8.99 mm, the RAZR MAXX is the longest-lasting smartphone on the block and still impossibly thin. Customers that purchase a DROID RAZR MAXX will need to subscribe to a Verizon Wireless Nationwide Talk plan beginning at $39.99 monthly access and a smartphone data package starting at $30 monthly access for 2 GB of data. Customers can have a smartphone with the endurance to talk on the phone for more than 21 hours straight on a single charge. Equipped with the same great features as the original DROID RAZR, customers can expect to rip through the Web at blazing speeds with a dual-core 1.2 GHz processor and Verizon Wireless 4G LTE. Verizon Wireless leads the way in 4G with the fastest and most reliable 4G network in the United States, covering more than 200 million people in 195 markets. |  |
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Consumer Cellular, the number one rated cell phone service provider and exclusive wireless provider for AARP members, has announced new data plans for its growing base of customers using data on a regular basis.
“We are updating our data plans to better meet the needs of our smartphone users,” said Consumer Cellular CEO John Marick. “We’ve been talking with our customers, and what we’re hearing is that they want to stay connected and need more flexibility with their data plans, so we’re excited to bring them more data capacity at their current rates or the option to change plans. We’ll continue to offer all of these plans as no-contract plans, and subscribers can switch between plans without penalty at any time.”
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| Sony Corporation today announced that it has developed a new next-generation back-illuminated CMOS image sensor which embodies the continuous evolution of the camera. This image sensor layers the pixel section containing formations of back-illuminated structure pixels onto chips containing the circuit section for signal processing, which is in place of supporting substrates for conventional back-illuminated CMOS image sensors. This structure achieves further enhancement in image quality, superior functionalities and a more compact size that will lead to enhanced camera evolution. Hereafter, Sony will position it as the next generation back-illuminated CMOS image sensors, and unwaveringly strive to further develop this image sensor and expand its product lineup, thereby contributing to the further development of user-friendly cameras and to shooting enjoyment. | |
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Time Warner Cable announced the launch of TWC TV for iPhone. With TWC TV, customers can watch live TV from within the home, change channels on their set-top box and manage their DVR right from their iPhone. This feature is available at no additional cost to Time Warner Cable video customers that have a broadband connection.
Features on TWC TV include:
- Interactive program guide (IPG) – up to 7 days of listings. View detailed show descriptions including box art. Option to display “HD only” or “favorites only” by creating a favorite channel list.
- Search – search for programming by title or episode name and filter results by genre
- Set-top box tuning – tap on a network logo or “watch on TV” button within the program description to tune compatible set-top boxes directly to the channel
- DVR management – schedule one-time and series recordings on compatible DVRs directly from the IPG. Tap on the “DVR” button to see a list of all upcoming recordings and make changes or cancel recordings
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In April 2011 Ericsson filed lawsuits in Germany, UK and Italy against ZTE for infringing on several Ericsson patents related to GSM and 3G/UMTS cellular technology
The parties have now signed a global cross-licensing agreement and both parties have also agreed to drop all litigation.
"Ericsson has the strongest patent portfolio in the industry with over 27,000 patents and any company which sells mobile devices or systems needs a license from Ericsson. We have signed more than 90 patent agreements with different vendors worldwide. Now we can add ZTE to this group," says Kasim Alfalahi, Chief Intellectual Property Officer at Ericsson.
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