Apr 08
HTC has announced that it made just $2.8 million in the first three months of 2013, which Bloomberg claims is its slimmest profit on record. More »
Apr 06
Taking a play-before-you-pay approach, for a limited time, US Cellular is giving prospective customers the option to try its network without committing to a service agreement. This offer is available in select markets, including Eureka, CA, Klamath Falls, OR and Knoxville, TN. While this may sound similar to what most carriers offer, the differences here are that you’re not required to sign a service contract and that you don’t have to pay for any equipment. Instead, US Cellular provides a loaner device (the Motorola Electrify M, Samsung Chrono 2 or Samsung Galaxy Metrix) for eight days with an allotment of 500 minutes, 500 texts and 1GB of data. While this program doesn’t feature the most elite handsets, it does give potential patrons a preview of the regional carrier without having to exchange any vows.
Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile
Via: Fierce Wireless
Source: US Cellular
Apr 05
Today’s the day, folks. Those wanting an iPhone 5 on T-Mobile can now order one on T-Mobile’s website with a ship date of April 12. You can grab one for as low $99 down, with monthly payments of $20 per month for 24 months. Or, if you have the cash, you can pay in full at checkout for as low as $579 for the 16GB model. Join that together with a $50-per-month plan and you really got something.
T-Mobile announced availability of the iPhone 5 during the carrier’s “UNcarrier” event late last month. T-Mobile emphasized that it wanted to shake up the wireless industry with all-new plans that no other carrier is offering. It’s quite a bold move on their part, but CEO John Legere seems confident that customers will love it.
The T-Mobile iPhone 5 is practically the same model that’s on other carriers, save for a few changes with the wireless chip and support for different bands and spectrums. However, AT&T iPhone 5 models will work on T-Mobile if the phone itself is unlocked. For the cheapskates, T-Mobile also offers the older iPhone 4S, which only costs $69.99 down, as well as the iPhone 4, which costs $14.99. These older devices, however, are only available in select locations.
The iPhone 5 comes with 4G LTE, so T-Mobile customers will be able to take advantage of faster speeds, but the carrier only has LTE available in a handful of cities, but they’re adamant about expanding their LTE network and say that it will cover 200 million people by the end of the year. Here’s hoping that they can get it done.
T-Mobile iPhone 5 pre-orders live, available April 12 is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Apr 05
Apple’s iPhone Continues To Show Strong Growth In The U.S., Samsung And Android Adoption Slow
Posted in: Today's Chili
Apple’s trajectory in the U.S. smartphone market over the past little while has been an upwards one, with the company gaining more and more iPhone subscribers every month. During the three-month period covering November 2012 to February 2013, Apple added 8.9 million new iPhone subscribers according to comScore, while Android as a platform in total added only 2.9 million. That means Apple’s share of the total smartphone subscriber base in the U.S. grew to 38.9 percent from 35 percent, while Android’s dropped from 53.7 to 51.7 percent.
ComScore’s figures also show that in terms of smartphone manufacturers, Apple also continues to lead the pack. Its share among OEMs rose 3.9 percentage points during the three month period, while Samsung gained only 1 percent percentage point, rising from 20.3 percent of the U.S. market to 21.3 percent. That means Apple and the iPhone continue to enjoy almost double the smartphone manufacturer share of its next closest rival.
The loser in this case wasn’t either Apple or Samsung, however, both of whom gained subscribers and share, but BlackBerry, which as a platform shed 1.7 million subscribers in the U.S. between November and February. These numbers predate the launch of BB10, however, so we’ll have to watch to see if that helps BlackBerry stem the tide of users leaving.
Of course, both Google and Samsung stand to reap the benefits of upcoming device launches, which could help swing the pendulum back in their favor over the coming months. Samsung is on the verge of debuting its next-generation flagship smartphone, the Galaxy S4, with pre-orders beginning in just a couple of weeks. The HTC One is also coming to the U.S. market in mid-April, which could give Android as a platform additional firepower in terms of competing with iOS and the iPhone.
Apple’s success to date has been based on the strong performance of the iPhone 5 since launch, and that device seems to continue to be an attractive choice for U.S. subscribers. There still doesn’t appear to be much in the way of a true race for a third platform, however, with Microsoft and BlackBerry either actively losing share or seeing only insignificant gains. The market is now at a crucial juncture in terms of product releases, but the fight looks likely to continue to remain a two-party affair for the foreseeable future.
Apr 04
ComScore has released data on the US smartphone market gathered over a three month span that went to the end of February of this year, and it shows Apple and Google on the top of the their respective scales. Apple is leading the way in smartphone OEMs, beating out Samsung by over 15-percent, while Google comes in with the top platform, althoug its numbers have dropped a bit over last year once again, marking a downward trend.
According to the report, 133.7 million individuals in the United States own smartphones, a rise of 8-percent since November. Among them, Apple holds 38.9-percent, a slight increase over 2012′s 35-percent. Samsung came in second at 21.3-percent, rising a hair over 2012′s 20.3-percent. And HTC comes in third at 9.3-percent, suffering a 1.7-percent drop, followed relatively closely by Motorola and LG.
As far as smartphone platforms go, Google is still at the top, but suffered a 2-point drop from 53.7-percent to 51.7-percent, marking the second month straight where Google has taken a hit. This was contrasted by Apple, which still sits at #2 with a 3.9-point increase from 35-percent to 38.9-percent. Third on the list is BlackBerry, which also suffered a drop from 7.3-percent to a paltry 5.4-percent. The list is rounded out by Microsoft at 3.2-percent (a 0.2-point increase) and Symbian, which held steady at 0.5-percent.
HTC and Samsung are all but guaranteed to see number jumps the next time around given the soon-to-be-released HTC first, which will offer Facebook Home, as well as Samsung’s much-anticipated GALAXY S 4 flagship. And while things are looking good for Apple and Samsung, Google has once again edged closer to dropping below the 50-percent mark.
[via ComScore]
Google suffers another marketshare drop while Apple rises, says comScore is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Apr 04
Facebook announced and showed off what they’re calling Facebook Home today, but that’s not all. HTC and AT&T also made an appearance, and the phone maker officially announced the HTC first, a new smartphone specifically catered toward Facebook users, and it’ll be available the day that Home will be released: April 12, and it’ll priced at $99 after a two-year contract.
The HTC first will sport a 4.3-inch LCD display with a 720p resolution, as well as a Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 dual-core processor — one of Qualcomm’s newest chips that was announced not too long ago. The phone also packs a 5MP camera on the back, as well as a 1.6MP camera on the front for video chatting and taking selfies.
The phone will also come with Android 4.1 Jelly Bean out of the box, meaning that you’ll have access to the latest features of Android, including Google Now, improved notifications, and a smoother UI thanks to Project Butter. Plus, there’s 1GB of RAM to keep you going through all the Facebook multi-tasking you’ll need.
With AT&T’s CEO at the Facebook event right next to HTC, it makes sense then that the first will be available on AT&T, and will support the carrier’s fast 4G LTE. Overall, this looks to be the phone to get if you’re a Facebook junkie at heart. Have a look at our Android Hub for more Android news!
HTC first available April 12 for $99 is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Apr 04
The HTC First is a new smartphone that’s deeply integrated with Facebook Home. The AT&T phone runs on a modified version of Jelly Bean and it’s the only phone to come pre-loaded with Facebook Home. More »
Apr 04
We’re here at Facebook’s phone announcement, and they haven’t yet announced anything, but CEO Mark Zuckerberg is on stage talking about phones and apps, and how people use their phones. Zuckerberg says that phones should be designed around people, and not the apps on the phones themselves, noting that Facebook wants to do that with smartphones today.
Zuckerberg is talking about turning Android phones into a more social platform, and he brings up the fact that with Android’s openness, along with Facebook’s connected platform, people are built around this kind of ecosystem, so it makes sense that Facebook is wanting to do something about this.
Since people spend their lives sharing information with one another, via Facebook in this case, Zuckerberg and company want to make it easier for users to do just that on Android devices. However, before you can do that though, you must make the phone about the user first, and not the apps themselves.
Since Facebook has over 1 billion users, the company not only wants to make a phone, but an entire ecosystem around that phone, and it seems like they can sell a lot of them, touting that average smartphone sales are anywhere from 10-20 million, but Facebook’s 1 billion users could easily surpass that.
Zuckerberg tips “phones designed around people, not apps” is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
Apr 04
Italian-born neuroscientist Ruggero Scorcioni has developed a new technology that will help you get stuff done by deflecting phone calls or other notifications away when you’re busy. Finally, technology to help keep your brainspace clear when you need it. More »
Apr 04
Facebook’s got a new phone. And a new home screen. They’re going to be fine, probably, more or less. But you are also asleep now because the idea of a Facebook phone bores you, deeply. Maybe it shouldn’t. In a perfect world, there’s a compelling case for a true blue Facebook phone. More »
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