Hasta La Gadget!

Despite regularly hearing how mobile platforms fare within the smartphone space, we rarely get a sense of their place in the wider cellphone universe. Canalys is stepping in with some context. It estimates that smartphones represented just under half of the total pie in the fourth quarter, giving bigger companies like Apple and Google some serious clout. Android accounted for 34 percent of all cellphones shipped, driven by Samsung as well as fast-growing Chinese backers like Huawei, Lenovo and ZTE — all of whom were big reasons why smartphones made up 73 percent of Chinese phone sales in the same period. Apple took a smaller share of the worldwide arena at 11 percent, although it too was riding the Chinese wave to success.

Limiting the scope to smartphones tells a mostly familiar tale. Android staked out 69 percent of the market, taking a 5-point hit as iOS jumped to 22 percent through the iPhone 5 launch. Samsung reigned supreme among individual smartphone makers, followed by Apple and Nokia. The rest are once again Chinese, as Huawei, ZTE and Lenovo scooped up the next three spots. Whether or not regular cellphones are included, the message is the same — if you haven’t been building a popular flagship device or catering to buyers in Beijing, you’ve likely been left out in the cold.

[Image credit: Jon Fingas, Flickr]

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Apple, Samsung, Nokia, Google, Lenovo

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Source: Canalys

When we think of hidden keyboards on our phones, our thoughts usually turn to thick sliders — notwithstanding the occasional wacky twister. BlackBerry has filed for a pair of patents that would be even subtler by hiding the keys inside of a phone’s main body. Looking somewhat like concertinas in practice, the concepts would pivot keys into place as the phone owner pulls out a retractable section to start typing. BlackBerry suggests it could work for both conventional smartphones (what you see above) as well as a not-entirely-practical design with keys on opposite sides of a display, much like a single-screen LG Doubleplay. We’re not expecting BlackBerry to ship related products anytime soon when the Q10 represents its immediate future in hardware keyboards, but it’s tough to rule out the ideas altogether when they could slim keyboarded phones without losing that coveted stealthiness. They might stand a better chance of reaching the market than some of BlackBerry’s more outlandish experiments.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Blackberry

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Source: USPTO (1), (2)

It must be the season for Android-native makeovers within our apps. RunKeeper has just pushed out a 3.0 update to its exercise tracker that brings the interface in line with Google’s Holo concepts from Android 4.0 and beyond. There’s more to see once acclimated to the look and feel, however. The 3.0 revamp now has a dedicated tab to show all of an athlete’s progress in one area, such as goals and recent history. It also displays both intervals and pacing in mid-activity while making easy to set a reminder for the next run while cooling down. Runners wanting to modernize just need to hit Google Play to give RunKeeper a makeover that could very well improve their health in the process.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile

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Source: Google Play

Just weeks ago, Samsung slipped the entry-level Galaxy Discover into Canadian shops, with no word on whether or not it would ever cross the border. It has — or rather, it will. The company has listed the Galaxy Discover as coming to the US through contract-free carriers Net10 and Straight Talk. Hardware-wise, the US version is the familiar starter smartphone with a 3.5-inch HVGA screen, an 800MHz processor and a 3-megapixel camera. The American model touts a slightly curvier frame, however. Its real stand-out remains the removal of TouchWiz in favor of pure Android 4.0; while not unique, it’s still a rare break for a company that likes its custom UI layers. We don’t have ship dates or prices when the phone hasn’t yet been announced or listed for either network, but we’d venture that it will be one of the cheaper prepaid options when it arrives stateside.

Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Samsung

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Via: Phone Scoop

Source: Samsung

There’s been a perpetual catch with TomTom’s taxi hailing service in Amsterdam (and now Rotterdam): passengers have to hail from a specific terminal, which isn’t much help when they just need a ride home from the club at 2AM. The Dutch don’t have to necessarily forgo one convenience for another now that there’s an iPhone app. Edging closer to services like Uber, the TomTomTaxi app lets travelers order a cab from their own devices, learn about drivers and choose favorite drivers if they have good experiences. The software may keep rude surprises to a minimum, as well, when both the driver and travelers can see the fastest route for themselves. Expansion outside of the Netherlands is still a mystery, although there’s an Android app on the way that should cover a larger swath of taxi seekers.

Filed under: Cellphones, Transportation, Mobile

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Via: The Next Web

Source: TomTom, App Store