Smartphone growth already slowing down

Some of the new buzz words that got dropped a lot at MWC 2014 were, “growth markets.” Also known as developing markets, or emerging markets, growth markets are what will continue to drive smartphone sales growth for the foreseeable future.Smartphone growth in the United States will grind to single-digits this year for example. The same is expected for Western Europe and Japan. That is a far departure from what we have seen in the past, but was an inevitable outcome.2013 saw over 1 billion smartphones sold worldwide, representing nearly 40% overall growth. As the growth markets begin realizing some form of saturation, it is expected to see rates shrink to under 10% in 2017, just three years from now.To maintain any measure of growth, we can also expect prices to continue to drop, the average price of a smartphone in 2013 was $335. By 2018, that average should fall to $260, fueled by what will be a dramatic increase in low-price-point devices. Smartphones like the Nokia Lumia 520, the new Nokia X as well as the Motorola Moto G are just the beginning.





via: WindowsITPro.com

Buy the Samsung Galaxy S5 and get $575 in freebies from Samsung Galaxy Gifts

Samsung is throwing in a number of free apps for those who purchase the Samsung Galaxy S5 with the Samsung Galaxy Gifts promo. The freebies include things like a 6 month free subscription to the Wall Street Journal ($160 value), three months of a premium subscription to Evernote (worth $15), and $10 of free in-app purchases for Cut The Rope2.
Other freebies include a 12 month subscription to Bloomberg Businessweek ($30 value), 50GB of cloud based storage from Box for 6 months ($60 value), $50 of special deals from PayPal, one year of personal trainer Run Keeper worth $20 and a slew of other health and fitness related apps. You can check out the entire bundled package at the sourcelink.
The entire value of all of the bundled apps comes out to $575.



source: SamsungGalaxyGifts via AndroidCentral

New Nokia Windows Phone codenamed “Martini” in the pipeline

Hopefully this is the beginning of what will be a steady stream of information about upcoming Nokia Lumia Windows Phone devices since MWC was reserved for the new Nokia X line-up.
Today it was leaked to keep an eye open for a new Windows Phone Blue handset from Nokia, codename, “Martini.” That is basically all we know right now unfortunately.
Microsoft’s //Build/ developer conference is coming in one month and it is widely expected that in addition to the introduction of Windows Phone 8.1, there will be a number of new Windows Phone devices unveiled to ring in what will be a huge update to the platform.  It stands to reason that we will see Martini make its debut with other Windows Phones, including perhaps the Samsung device known as Huron.
Spec-wise, we have no indicators as to what the Nokia Martini will be and we do not know where it will sit in the hierarchy of devices – that is, will it be a hero device or mid-level piece of equipment. April may be a little too early to expect a successor to the super-camera packing Nokia Lumia 1020, but certainly not too early to see a successor to the slim and fancy Lumia 925.

The timing of //Build/ is going to apropos not just for maintaining the momentum of the Windows platform as a whole, but it should also mark the very beginning of Microsoft completing its acquisition of Nokia Devices and Services. That said, it is entirely possible we see a device meant to be the flag bearer of that new arrangement.



 source: @evleaks (Twitter)

Indian handset maker Karbonn to launch dual-OS smartphone this June

If you like Android and Windows Phone, you can have the best of both worlds this June when Indian manufacturer Karbonn launches its dual-OS smartphone. The company sells its handsets in India as well as in other countries like Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and the Middle East. Karbonn just recently signed its licensing agreement to use Windows Phone. The company's chairman, Sudhir Hasija, says the company will use Microsoft's mobile OS right alongside its existing Android system.
If you like Android and Windows Phone, you can have the best of both worlds this June when Indian manufacturer Karbonn launches its dual-OS smartphone. The company sells its handsets in India as well as in other countries like Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and the Middle East. Karbonn just recently signed its licensing agreement to use Windows Phone. The company's chairman, Sudhir Hasija, says the company will use Microsoft's mobile OS right alongside its existing Android system.
As far as the dual-OS phone is concerned, so far there is no word on what kind of specs we might see on the unit, and there is also no word on pricing.





source: TheTimesofIndia via WPCentral

Nokia to appear in India's top court on Monday to demand the return of its factory

You might recall that back in December, we told you about the tax dispute that Nokia was having with the Indian tax authorities relating to a manufacturing plant in the country. The factory is supposed to be turned over to Microsoft as part of the latter's $7 billion acquisition of Nokia's Devices and Services business.
After being seized by Indian authorities, the plant was expected to be returned to Nokia after the Finnish based handset manufacturer paid 22.50 billion rupees ($367.17 million USD) into an escrow account as requested by the Delhi High Court. But the court had added new conditions for the return of the factory, leading to Nokia's decision to escalate the legal fight.
Now the dispute moves to India's top court after Nokia appealed the High Court's ruling to the Indian Supreme Court. Since the factory is supposed to be turned over to Microsoft, the failure of the Delhi High Court to release the facility in return for the escrow payment as originally agreed to, could delay the closing of the deal although Nokia said last month that the dispute will not push back the date that the deal is finalized.
The court's website shows that Nokia is expected to plead its case on Monday. As per the usual workings of the court, we do not expect to hear a verdict on the same day that the case is heard. The original tax bill was for the amount of 20.8 billion rupees ($335 million USD), an amount that has ballooned up to $3.4 billion after penalties and interest.




 source: Reuters

Apple unveils CarPlay mode for safer, easier iPhone usage in your Ferrari... or Corolla

Apple chose the Geneva International Motor Show to announce its rumored CarPlay service, "designed from the ground up to provide drivers with an incredible experience using their iPhone in the car," as per Greg Joswiak, VP of iPhone and iOS product marketing.
CarPlay will arrive as an update to iOS7, and will be compatible with all iPhones that have a Lightning port, such as the iPhone 5, iPhone 5s, and iPhone 5c. Apple dubs CarPlay to be a "smarter, safer and more fun" way to use those iPhones in a car. Essentially, it is what other manufacturers, like Samsung, LG, HTC or Nokia, have been offering as a Drive or Car mode, in their respective interface overlays, but tailored to the iOS crowd. CarPlay is Apple's answer to the scramble to make using smartphones in our vehicles a more integrated, safer, and pleasant experience.
There are the obligatory lush, big icons, which are easy to spot and press while driving, and give you immediate access to navigation, calling, music services, and messaging. These can be operated with touch, or via engaging Siri's voice assistant prerogatives via a dedicated, steering wheel-mounted button. CarPlay's will also be predicting your eventual destination, based on a trip log, and Siri will be reading out the directions, while maps appear on the car's display.
As far as the music experience goes, besides all the music stored on your iPhone or in iCloud, you'll be able to use 3rd party apps like Spotify, for streaming anything your heart desires. "The iPhone users always want their content at their fingertips and CarPlay lets drivers use their iPhone in the car with minimised distraction. We have an amazing lineup of auto partners rolling out CarPlay, and we're thrilled it will make its debut this week in Geneva," chimed in Greg Joswiak again, praising the new mode.
Those "auto partners" include brands like Ferrari, Volvo and Mercedes-Benz, which already have models with CarPlay at the Motor Show, while a number of others will be joining them in the future. BMW, Ford, General Motors, Honda, Hyundai, Jaguar Land Rover, Kia, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Peugeot, Citroën, Subaru, Suzuki, and Toyota, have apparently all signed up for the ride. CarPlay will be available in select 2014 models of the above brands, which will standardize the iPhone and iOS in-car experience across all of them.




 source:apple

Nokia mocks Samsung for the blurry Oscars selfies

Samsung's impromptu PR stunt with the record-breaking selfie at the Oscars might have been incredibly successful, but the quality of the picture itself, taken with a Note 3, wasn't that great. Of course, that's a big part of the fun with selfies, which are often taken with 1-2 MP front shooters, but this didn't prevent Nokia from chiming in with a snarky comment.
Nokia USA retweeted a photo from Ellen's feed, that you can see on the right, where she used the hashtags #Blessed #Oscars #Blurry. The comment by the Lumia 1520's maker? "Let's do away with blurry photos, Ellen!" Ouch. 
Samsung's marketing machine was in full swing at the Oscars, just like it was during the Sochi Olympics, or in NBA games - putting big Note 3 phablets, and other Samsung gear, in everyone's hands for the world to see. If that's scaling down on marketing, as Samsung recently said it would do, we'd love to see what happens if it decides to boost the PR budget.






 source: NokiaUSA (Twitter)