Apple iWatch Already in Production, Report Says

The long-rumored wearable computer from Apple, affectionately known as the iWatch, has reportedly gone into production.
Reports of the highly anticipated device's production run cropped up in the Tuesday edition of Taiwan-based China Times.
Citing sources in Apple's supply chain in Asia, the site claims that part of the production includes advanced SiP (system-in-a-package) modules, which can contain a processor, DRAM and flash memory.
Such a module, used in mobile devices like MP3 players and smartphones, could be useful in producing a wearable computer. However the China Times report doesn't offer further technical details beyond that.
It said the device will be released in the latter half of 2014, and that production of up to 3 million devices will began in the second quarter of this year, and will increase to 14 to 15 million in the third quarter.
Although Apple CEO Tim Cook has remained mum on whether the company will release a wearable device of any kind, his statements in recent months have consistently been peppered with comments about an exciting "new category" of product the company plans to release later this year.
According to a Harris Interactive poll conducted in September, 49% of Americans believe "wearable tech is a fad." That sentiment seems to be a result of the less-than-stellar reception given to recently released devices such as the Pebble and the Galaxy Gear.
So as the evidence of an entirely new product from Apple piles up, long-time observers of the company are waiting to see if it can work its iDevice magic on the wearable-tech category.

78% of Twitter's monthly active users are tweeting from a mobile device

On Tuesday afternoon, Twitter released its earnings report for the first quarter of 2014. The 140 character messaging app now has 255 million monthly users. Of those users, 198 million are accessing the service from a mobile device. That means that 78% of Twitter users are tweeting from a smartphone or tablet. While the vast majority of Twitter users are using a mobile device, the growth in mobile subscribers is actually in a downtrend.
Back in the early days of Twitter, when most of the public thought that they needed to park their car to visit an app store, quarterly growth of mobile users of Twitter ranged from 10% to 33%. The five quarters from Q1 2012 to Q1 2013 saw pretty steady growth of mobile users, with a quarterly gain of about 10.5% for those five periods. Over the last four quarters, mobile growth has declined again. From the second quarter of 2013 through the first quarter of this year, Twitter has seen a sequential gain in mobile users ranging from 3.9% to 6.9%.What does this decline mean for Twitter? It would seem that the company will have to find a way to drive new mobile users. Twitter admits that it previously had a hands-off attitude toward growth. "Growth was something that happened to us," said CEO Dick Costolo. But now, Twitter will have to start adding features, designed at attracting more mobile users. 


  source: TechCrunch

Acer Iconia One 7 $129.99 tablet

Acer held a press event in New York City earlier today, where they introduced its latest mobile computing devices. Full-blown Windows 8 laptops and all-in-ones were in abundance, but the event yielded two particular budget oriented Android tablets. Starting off with the one that’s bound to make its presence here stateside, the Acer Iconia One 7 is sure to entice consumers on a pinch with its hard-to-miss $129.99 cost.
Compact, sleek, rounded around the edges, and lightweight, this 7-inch tablet has all the elements to make it a decent budget-oriented tablet. Generic is definitely the name of the game with this one, however, it’s wonderful to know that its plastic textured casing is available in a rainbow of colors – giving the user a sprinkling of personalization. Beyond that, there isn’t a whole lot regarding its design, aside from its wide feel in the hand.Effective enough for our eyes to comfortably enjoy surfing the web on its 7-inch LED-backlit 800 x 1280 IPS display, the screen is otherwise of lower quality due to its washed out looks at wide angles and bland color reproduction. We can only imagine how tough it’ll be attempting to view the display outdoors, in bright conditions. The resolution, of course, is something we expect, since it’s a budget offering and all. It doesn’t come close to meeting some of the higher resolutions on similar sized displays, but we can’t complain about it too much.Fortunately, Acer’s customization is fairly light on the tablet, which is running Android 4.2 Jelly Bean. Basically, those customizations are limited to just a few Acer-oriented widgets on the homescreen and some preloaded apps. To tell you the truth, it appears as though it’s a mostly stock experience – so there won’t be a huge learning curve for those coming over from another Android tablet.Peeking at the back of the tablet, there’s that ‘Intel Inside’ sticker perched right beneath the Acer logo. Specifically, the Acer Iconia One 7 is powered by a dual-core 1.6GHz Intel Atom Z2560 processor with 1GB of RAM, which seems to give the tablet some decent handling, as most basic tasks perform with enough responsiveness. Still, we’re curious to see how it fares with 3D gaming or some other processor intensive tasks.Available in both 8GB and 16GB options, there’s a microSD card slot on its side to provide us with additional storage.Flush to the surface in the rear of the tablet, a 2-megapixel camera sits in the upper left corner ready to give users quick snapshots and videos. Naturally, we can’t expect a whole lot in terms of quality with its below-average sized camera, but hey, we’d bet that some people are nonetheless pleased to know it can be used when nothing else is around. Around the front, it’s packing along a 0.3-megapixel camera.

Smartphone Market Leaders Lost Share In Q1

Strategy Analytics has put out its latest smartphone market figures for Q1, and the market watcher has Samsung and Apple both losing share in the quarter.
While Apple’s marketshare being squeezed by Android OEMs is nothing new, Samsung’s dip is the first annual marketshare loss for the company in the smartphone category since Q4 2009, according to the analyst — underlining a sense that the Korean electronics giant is losing momentum as rival Android OEMs continue to improve their offerings.
Galaxy brand phone maker Samsung shipped 89 million smartphones globally in Q1, taking a 31% marketshare, according to Strategy Analytics, down slightly from the 32% it took a year earlier.
Meanwhile Apple shipped 43.7 million iPhones globally during the quarter, taking a 15% marketshare — down from the 17% it commanded in Q1 2013.
According to Strategy Analytics’ figures, the combined global smartphone share of Samsung and Apple is down from 50% last year to 47% in Q1 this year.
Despite the two biggest brand smartphone makers slipping in the quarter, Strategy Analytics said global smartphone shipments grew by a third (33%) annually to reach 285 million units in Q1. So the size of the market is continuing to expand, but it’s becoming increasingly competitive — hence the two dominant brands losing share to rivals.
The analyst said Samsung continues to face tough competition from Apple at the higher-end of the smartphone market and from Chinese brands such as Huawei at the lower-end.
While it said Apple’s loss of share is down to continued lack of presence in the entry-level category (aka: there’s still no budget iPhone) — where it’s losing volumes in fast-growing emerging markets such as Latin America. At the premium end of the smartphone segment Apple is continuing to perform strongly, according to the analyst.
Senior Analyst Linda Sui noted that Huawei and Lenovo are both threatening to take more marketshare from the market leaders.
“There is more competition than ever coming from the second-tier smartphone brands,” she noted in a statement. “Huawei remained steady with 5% global smartphone marketshare in Q1 2014, while Lenovo has increased its global presence from 4% to 5% share during the past year.
“Huawei is expanding swiftly in Europe, while Lenovo continues to grow aggressively outside China into new regions such as Russia. If the recent Lenovo takeover of Motorola gets approved by various governments in the coming months, this will eventually create an even larger competitive force that Samsung and Apple must contend with in the second half of this year.”

LG G3 arriving on May 27 alongside G Watch

 

Chances for the LG G3 arriving on May 27 are big, as the company has sent out press invites to an event that will be held simultaneously in London, San Francisco, and New York. Events in Seoul, Singapore, and Istanbul are set to follow the second day, and we can’t really think of anything else than the LG G3.
Chances are also big that the G3 will not be on its own, with the G Watch expected to make an appearance as well, which is really of no surprise after seeing the gold and white G Watch pictures LG has shared.


Source: Engadget

Samsung teases upcoming Galaxy K on Instagram

The company has now put up a video on Instagram that zooms into the Red Dot Design Museum, with the caption 'Meet #TheNextGALAXY. Join us for a live update on April 29 at 11AM SGT'. The zoom in the video looks like a hint at the optical zoom in the phone, although the choice of having the Red Dot Design Museum in the video may not just be a coincidence.
Samsung is having an event tomorrow where the company is expected to announce the tentatively named Galaxy K device, the successor to last year's Galaxy S4 zoom.

 instagram

Guests at the Hyatt Regency in Hong Kong can use this smartphone for free

Well the Hyatt Regency Tsim Sha Tsui in Hong Kong have gone and done something novel: give their guests a smartphone during their stay with the hotel. 

And it isn’t just a phone that is for talking and texting: they’ve gone all out and have included unlimited mobile data, tethering, calls to Hong Kong, the US, Australia, the UK, China, and Singapore, all included in the price of your room (aka, free).
So what phone is it? It’s the Alcatel Idol X, a decent mid-ranged Android phone packed with popular applications like Facebook, Instagram, Skype, Twitter, and a whole mess of local interest and travel-centric applications. When you check out of the Hotel, you click a “clear data” button, and it gets rid of all your usage history on the handset.
If you do plan on using the phone during your stay, just don’t try losing it: the hotel will charge you $250 for a replacement.


source:engadget

Skype's Group Video Calls Now Free for Everyone

Skype's group video call feature is now free for all users.
The company introduced group video calls in 2010, supporting group video chats for up to 10 users at once. The feature was free for a few months during a public beta, but became a paid feature in early 2011.

For the last few years, we've offered group video calling to Premium users on Windows desktop and Mac and more recently Xbox One. Today, we're excited to announce that we're making group video calling free – for all users on these platforms. And, in the future, we'll be enabling group video calling for all our users across more platforms – at no cost.

By other platforms, we assume Skype is referring to mobile, where group video calls are currently unsupported.
When Skype introduced group video calls in 2010, it was the only consumer-focused service that could offer that kind of feature at scale. That changed, however, with the launch of Google+ and Google Hangouts in the summer of 2011.
Google Hangouts may have been arguably less reliable than Skype (especially in the beginning), but its offering was free. Moreover, Google brought group video chats to its mobile apps and added other advanced features. Last year, Google started integrating all of its VoIP, text, video and chat features into the Hangouts umbrella — making the product even better.
Meanwhile, video chat on mobile has exploded — with FaceTime, ooVoo, Tango, Line, Viber, Qik and many others actively competing in the space.
Making group video chats free is an indicator that Skype understands that it is at risk of losing (or has already lost) its status of being the de facto voice/video service. Now, the big question is: Will free video group calls be enough to entice users back to Skype?
To get the free video group calling features, update Skype for Windows or Mac. Xbox One users still need to be Xbox Gold subscribers to access Skype.

Closing arguments in Apple-Samsung trial to take place tomorrow; jury deliberations to start Tuesday

The Apple-Samsung patent trial sequel is almost over. Closing arguments will take place starting tomorrow, and then the jury will receive instructions from Judge Lucy Koh. The instructions runs a mind-numbing 53 pages (literally, reading this document will numb your mind!) and has 43 different instructions on it that will help the jury understand things like determining if either side has met their burden of proof.
The closing arguments were supposed to have been held today, but as we told you this past weekend, a separate appeals court ruling in a case involving Apple and Motorola had implications for this trial, and forced each side to add another hour each of testimony. Apple recalled Carnegie Mellon professor Todd Mowry to the stand today, to say that even with a different definition of analyzer server as determined by the appeals court, Samsung still is guilty of infringing on Apple's patents. Samsung had Kevin Jeffay, professor of computer science at the University of North Carolina, testify about his definition of analyzer server. But saying that he never had a firm definition, Judge Koh struck his answer from the record. Jeffay did get to testify that Samsung did not infringe on Apple's patents.Tomorrow, both sides will wrap things up with their closing arguments and after a longer than normal lunch break (hey, those noontime lines at Chipotle are long!) Judge Koh will read the instructions to the jury at around 1pm PDT. After that, the jury begins its deliberations. Apple is seeking $2.2 billion from Samsung, while in a cross-claim, Samsung is asking for $6 million from Apple.
  You can read the entire 53 pages of jury instructions on the link below.



source: Scribd via CNET

Samsung reports a year-over-year decline in Q1 operating profits

On Tuesday morning, Samsung reported a first quarter operating profit that was 3.3% below last year's figure. The Korean based company reported an operating profit of 8.5 trillion Korean Won ($8.2 billion USD) for the three months ended in March. Samsung's mobile division reported operating profits of 6.43 trillion Won ($6.2 billion USD) in the first quarter, down 1.2% from the 6.51 trillion Won ($6.3 billion USD) in mobile operating profit reported by Samsung last year. On a sequential basis, mobile operating profits rose 19% from the 5.47 trillion Won ($5.3 billion) made by the Korean manufacturer in last year's fourth quarter.
The biggest smartphone maker on the planet was hurt by a market that was generating lower margins. As models like the Samsung Galaxy S4 got long in the tooth, it negatively affected margins in the first three months of the year. The second quarter should benefit from the release of the Samsung Galaxy S5, which was launched during the current three month period that runs through June. Samsung should be able to take advantage of the higher profit margins that come with the start of a new flagship product cycle.Instead of focusing on high-end, high-margin smartphones, Samsung is beginning to sell low margin, cheaper handsets in emerging markets. But these models are facing tough competition from Chinese manufacturers. And if Apple launches larger-screened iPhone models later this year as expected, it could have a negative impact on sales of Sammy's high-end models.

"Orders for display panels that are used for premium smartphones and TVs are expected to increase, as new mobile devices are rolled out into the market and as consumers look forward to the upcoming World Cup in Brazil."-Samsung 

Samsung sees a positive impact on high-end smartphone sales due to the upcoming World Cup in Brazil. In June, we could see the launch of the Samsung KQ, a premium version of the Samsung Galaxy S5 with a metal body and a 1440 x 2560 resolution screen. In the third quarter, the next iteration of Samsung's phablet is due to launch with a new form factor that could include a flexible, three-sided screen. There could be plenty of innovation to spur higher earnings for Samsung's mobile division for the remainder of the year, as long as it isnt squeezed by Apple on the high-end, and Chinese producers on the low-end. 

 

 

 source: Reuters

BlackBerry Z3 pre-order inventory sells out for three Indonesian carriers

It seems like BlackBerry may have underestimated the demand for the BlackBerry Z3 Limited “Jakarta” edition. Jason pointed out to us (via BerryFlow) that the device is sold out on Elevenia, Globalteleshop, and Jeruknipis in Indonesia. Pretty impressive stuff though it makes me truly wonder how many were available since that number could be even more impressive. It seems like BlackBerry is getting some good responses for the pre-order. Now lets hope they can keep that momentum going!

 While this seems to mean that the regime of John Chen is off to a good start,  the same thing seemed to take place when early reports said that the BlackBerry Z10 launch was a success for then CEO Thorsten Heins last year. But it was all downhill from there, and by the end of the year, Heins was out and Chen was in.


source: BerryFlow via BerryReview

Nokia appoints Rajeev Suri as CEO

After Microsoft successfully purchased its handset business, Nokia announced Rajeev Suri as the company's new Chief Executive Officer. Suri is a 46-year old electronics and telecom engineer who has been on top of Nokia's mobile network unit since 2009. In the past, he accomplished a successful turnaround of Nokia's Solutions and Networks division which was left in shambles after merging with Siemens's network unit back in 2006. 

Rajeev Suri commented: "With our three strong businesses - Networks, HERE and Technologies - and position as one of the world's largest software companies, we are well placed to meet our goal to be a leader in the technologies for a world where everybody and everything is connected." The CEO also elaborated on the company's three-part strategy for growth. Nokia's Networks business, which serves most of the world's largest 100 operators, will invest in new products and services. The company's HERE arm will target technology for connected cars, cloud services for personal mobility, wearables and special purpose devices, and location-based analytics. Finally, Nokia's Technologies business will focus on licensing and exploring "breakthrough innovations".

At present, Nokia will embark on an approximately $6.9 billion (5 billion EUR) capital structure optimization program, which involves paying off dividends to shareholders, repurchasing shares, reducing debt, and other financial efforts. 

 

source: WSJ , Nokia

Nokia's first quarter phone sales slumped 30%

Nokia might have just sold its phone business to Microsoft, but it’s not giving it away in a great shape. In the first quarter of 2014, Nokia phone sales slumped by 30% on the year, a decline due to a slowdown in sales of both Nokia feature phones and smartphones.
Nokia does not give any hard numbers for Lumia Windows Phone sales this time, but it says very clearly that the reason for the decline in Lumia sales lies in the “strong momentum of competing smartphone platforms” (Android and iOS, obviously). Put simply, Nokia admits that it is the Windows Phone platform’s lack of momentum that slows down sales.Nokia’s handset unit, now part of Nokia's discontinued operations, registered a 30% sales decline to $2.66 billion (€1.92 billion) in the first quarter. It contributed for a widening operating loss of €326 million, compared to a €73 million loss in the same period last year.Of feature phones and smartphones, Nokia says the loss was mostly due to a stark decline in feature phone sales, and to a lesser extent - due to declining smartphone sales. Interestingly, Nokia smartphone sales have increased from the 5.6 million units it sold in Q1 2014, but average selling price has gone down. We’d guess that this has a lot to do with affordable smartphones like the Nokia Lumia 520 making a large chunk of Lumia overall sales. Feature phones declined in both volume and average selling price."On both a year-on-year and sequential basis, our Mobile Phones net sales were affected by competitive industry dynamics, including intense smartphone competition at increasingly lower price points and intense competition at the low end of our product portfolio," Nokia said in its Q1 financial report.


source: Nokia (PDF)

Microsoft maintains HTC as a valuable partner

It’s been a while since HTC has done something to steal the Windows Phone headlines, since the Windows Phone 8x and 8s from the end of 2012. Sure, there were rumors last year of a Windows Phone-running HTC One (M7), just as there are this year, of a Windows Phone 8.1-powered HTC One (M8).
Microsoft has just completed the acquisition of Nokia‘s Devices and Services division on Friday, making it the largest Windows Phone vendor on the market. OEMs like Samsung (with its new ATIV SE), and HTC (without any solid rumors of an upcoming device) are facing a giant competitor that became, as of Friday, even bigger.
However, HTC is still considering Microsoft a valuable partner. A company spokesperson said: “Our position remains the same: Microsoft remains a valued partner and we don’t anticipate any change to our relationship“. We’d ask: what relationship? The way things are at the moment, that aforementioned relationship has not materialized (yet) in a Windows Phone for 19 months. The good thing is that HTC is not publicly waving off Windows Phone, now with the Micronokia behemoth in place, and there is still chance for a future Redmond-powered device wearing HTC’s badge. Will it be as beautiful as the One (M8), now with the head of design departing?



Source: PC World

Angry Birds-Maker Rovio Had a Slower Year With Revenues Flattened out

The Helsinki-based company pulled in $215.9 million in revenue last year, or just slightly above the $210.6 million it raked in 2012, according to results they released.
With the company’s headcount at 800 up from 500 the year before, net profits fell by more than half to $37.3 million from $76.8 million the year before. Even though Rovio is privately held, it has to report earnings every year under Finnish law.
The company also did a major re-org on the games side after Jami Laes came on as Rovio’s new executive vice president for games. He previously worked at Digital Chocolate and EA. The former games EVP Petri Jarvilehto left to go on and co-found another gaming startup called Seriously with another Rovio alum Andrew Stalbow, who led strategic partnerships out of Los Angeles.
Unlike some of the other gaming companies out of Helsinki, Rovio hadn’t been as aggressive on free-to-play monetization and instead went for a more merchandising and licensing-heavy business model.
On the one hand, you have to wonder why the company wasn’t focused more on games as other Helsinki-based peers in the gaming industry like Supercell went on to earn $892 million in annual revenue last year.
On the other hand, the merchandising revenue probably cushioned some of the financial downsides that are inherent to the games industry being a hits-driven business. Consumer products made up 47 percent of Rovio’s total revenue last year and there are plenty of other global brands like Hello Kitty or Mickey Mouse that have endured for decades, even if they have become totally divorced from their origins.
Rovio also bought an animation studio and is still working on a feature-length animation film that is supposed to come out in the middle of 2016. They also bought an animation studio to create shorts on YouTube, started a publishing program to promote third-party games and built out several Angry Birds “activity parks” throughout Europe and mainland China.
The company says that it’s starting to put more effort into the free-to-play model, which uses sales of virtual goods and currency instead of paid premium apps. They did an Angry Birds Star Wars II game, and a racing game called Angry Birds Go!

HTC’s Hardware Designer Packs His Bags

HTC, the company who currently holds the unofficial title of “best looking Android phones on the market,” is losing the man who made it all possible. Scott Croyle, Head of Design at HTC, is the man responsible for the design of the One (M7) and One (M8), arguably two of the hottest Android devices ever released. As reported and confirmed by The Verge, he is leaving HTC to pursue the non-corporate side of design, to focus on more “next-generation developments.”
HTC states that Croyle’s departure will be transitional, and he will continue to consult HTC on a design front, but will not directly oversee the company’s process any longer. As for who is to take over his job, second-in-command Jonah Becker is said to be the likely candidate for the roll.
The Verge also reports that Drew Bamford, has been promoted from overseeing the Sense user experience to being in charge of all HTC software and services. He will directly report to the company’s CEO Peter Chou, who stated that he would like to return his attention to product design, leaving the corporate aspect of the business to others in his company.
HTC’s uphill road looks to only be getting steeper, especially with a lot of products reportedly on the horizon. According to previous reports and HTC’s own statements, they will be diving head first into the wearable market this year, and rumors point to HTC to manufacture a Nexus device for Google this year.


source:the verge

HTC Senior Director Ford Davidson Also packs bag

HTC design head Scott Croyle isn’t the only executive leaving HTC. It turns out Ford Davidson, an HTC senior director, is also leaving the company. Davidson used to own a company called Dashwire, which he ultimately sold to HTC to help create its online sync tools. Geekwire first published Davidson’s intentions to leave, and it’s unclear if they are at all related to Croyle’s departure.
“HTC recently launched the new HTC One (M8), which is amazing, and our team on the software/service experience side, is rocking, so timing is good for me to get back to entrepreneurship,” Davidson told Geekwire on Friday, noting that today was his final day with the company. Davidson will reportedly work on another piece of software and is making his move in an effort to return to entrepreneurship.



source:geekwire