Android tablets overtake pricey iPads in latest popularity contest

Google makes 61.9% of the tablet pie is Jelly Bean and KitKat flavored

As phones go, so do tablets. In other words, Android tablets handily became more popular than their iPad counterparts for the first time, according to new data today.

120.9 million people snubbed the iPad Air and iPad mini 2 with Retina display last year in order to pick up one of the many tablets that runs Google's dominant operating system.

These worldwide sales numbers give Android tabs a 61.9% market share in 2013 after having just 45.8% of the tablet pie in 2012, according to market research firm Gartner.

Buyers were interested in low-end smaller screen tablets, suggested the firm, which perfectly describes the inexpensive 7-inch duo, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 3 7.0 and Google Nexus 7.

iPad sales numbers

Apple's 7.9 and 9.7-inch hardware still sold a combined 70.4 million with a market share of 36%. That's up from the 61.4 million sold in 2012, but down from its 52.8% market share.

The company remains the No. 1 tablet maker if the sales and market share are broken down by individual tablet manufacturer, with Samsung and Asus in second and third.

Apple also has the excuse that its redesigned full-sized iPad Air and smaller iPad mini 2 with launched in November of last year. The new mini was actually in short supply too.

Contrast that to Samsung and Google's pint-sized slates. Both the Tab 3 7.0 and Nexus 7 launched in July, giving them an almost four-month head start.

iPad and Android tablet sales are trending toward the numbers we see from their phones. Android-powered nearly 80% of smartphones in 2013, while Apple clung to just 15%, down from 20% a year ago.

Can Apple turn it around?

Apple might have a few tricks up its sleeve when it introduces the iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini 3.

We could see a bigger screen via the rumored iPad Pro and Bluetooth mouse support to match what users like about the extra-large business-friendly tabs like the Samsung Galaxy Note Pro 12.2.

Touch ID could make the inevitable phone-to-tab transition and Apple sure has to do something with that Sapphire glass factory. A tougher screen and wireless charging are on a lot of peoples' wish lists.

More than anything, the sales trend could tempt Apple to release a cheaper iPad to compete. Rather than a plastic tablet akin to the iPhone 5C, a price cut could turn things around.

• Come together: Microsoft reportedly wants Xbox Live cross-platform play on Android and iOS

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/android-tablets-overtake-pricey-ipads-in-popularity-as-its-sale-surge-127--1230639

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The Galaxy Note 3 Oscars selfie was totally not product placement

'Organic' *wink* *wink*

The Oscar selfie seen 'round the world was taken with an "organically" incorporated Galaxy Note 3, according to Samsung.

Viewers cried foul when host Ellen DeGeneres (with the long arm of Bradley Cooper) snapped an A-list-filled selfie that broke a retweet record using a Note 3. Product placement! She was using an iPhone backstage!

A Samsung spokesperson has since told TechCrunch that "[w]hile we were a sponsor of the Oscars and had an integration with ABC, we were delighted to see Ellen organically incorporate the device."

The pic, starring the likes of Kevin Spacey, JLaw and Meryl Streep, has been retweeted almost 3 million times, and to "honor" the achievement Samsung is donating $3 million (about £1.8m/AU$3.3m) to charities of DeGeneres' choice.

She picked St. Jude's Research Hospital and the Humane Society, which will split the cash equally. It's nice to know some good is coming out of something so self-absorbed.

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Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/ellen-s-galaxy-note-3-oscar-selfie-was-totally-not-product-placement-1230630

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Karbonn Mobiles tipped to launch dual-OS smartphone

According to a report in The Times of India, the local manufacturer Karbonn Mobiles will release a dual-OS smartphone. Set to launch in June, the handset will bring Android and Windows Phone under the same roof.

Karbonn Mobile has signed a license agreement with Microsoft which allows it to manufacture Windows Phone devices. Recently, the Redmond giant eased its licensing regulations and opened up the Windows Phone platform to more players.

Bringing Android and Windows Phone together surely makes for a slightly odd couple due to the rivalry between the two ecosystems, as well as the similar functionality they offer. We surely are curious to see the market’s reaction to such OS mashup in a device.

Source

Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/karbonn_mobiles_tipped_to_launch_dualos_smartphone-news-7958.php

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Microsoft looks to power Android and iOS gaming with Xbox Live

Mobile achievements are on their way?

It looks like Microsoft is making a new play on mobile gaming beyond its own mobile handsets.

A newly discovered job posting suggests that Microsoft is looking for new software engineers to port the Xbox Live platform to iOS and Android devices. Going beyond the Smartglass app users can already download, it seems Microsoft wants to extend Xbox Live's functionality even further.

One of goals listed in the job description included creating "a modern framework that is open source, light-weight, extensible and scalable across various platforms including Windows Store, Windows Phone, iOS and Android."

The description also details that Microsoft is hoping to "win back" game developers from our competitors. Developers that are most likely switched from programming console and PC games to become mobile game makers.

Winning back developers

The Verge confirmed with a source familiar with the Redmond company's plans that it is building a platform to extend Xbox Live functionality to iOS and Android games directly.

Prior to this new job posting, Microsoft has already implemented achievements into the Wordament app on iOS and Android. So it's not a far stretch that it would want more Xbox Live integration in games.

For Xbox gamers, achievements are a big reason why they stick with Microsoft's gaming platform, which could completely steamroll over Game Center on iOS and Android's Play Games service.

Achievements aside implementing more chat messaging, leaderboards, and even voice chat could all add a whole new cross-platform layer to competitive and multiplayer mobile games.

• You can also get achievements on the Xbox One, check out our review

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/microsoft-looks-to-power-android-and-os-gaming-with-xbox-live-1230605

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Galaxy S5 will come with $500 worth of freebies, says Samsung

Unfortunately the Galaxy S5 does not come with a hot air balloon ride

Just in case the Samsung Galaxy S5 isn't sweet enough on its own, Samsung is adding some extra sugar in the form of a "Galaxy Gifts" bundle of subscriptions, premium apps and more.

It includes a year's premium subscription to the fitness apps RunKeeper and Lark and six months with the similar Skimble and Map My Fitness, six months of The Wall Street Journal and three months of Businessweek+, three month premium subscriptions to LinkedIn and Evernote, and three months of massive 1TB storage with Bitcasa.

It also hahs special offers from select stores when you use Paypal, a free download of the to-do app EasilyDo Pro, $10 (about £6, AU$11) of Cut the Rope 2 credits, a six-month, 50GB subscription to the online storage service Box, and more.

Getting better all the time

All told Samsung says the Galaxy S5 bundle is worth $500 (about £300, AU$560).

The Galaxy Gifts bundle will be included with every Galaxy S5 purchase when the phone launches in April.

With a 5.1-inch full HD display, a 2.5GHz quad-core processor, a 16-megapixel camera, and a fingerprint scanner, the Galaxy S5 is not a gargantuan step up from its predecessor, but carries enough welcome improvements that it will no doubt sell like gangbusters come April.

• The Galaxy S5 has a lot in common with the Galaxy Note 3 - here's TechRadar's review

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/galaxy-s5-will-come-with-500-worth-of-freebies-says-samsung-1230592

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Oppo Find 7 snaps a new image, reveals a 50-megapixel sensor

Just look at those reflections (credit: Weibo)

The smartphone megapixels wars are back on as a new image on the web suggest Oppo might have a 50-megapixel camera powered smartphone.

The Chinese phone manufacturer posted a new photo of a Ford classic taken by the upcoming Find 7 smartphone in a whopping 8,160 x 6,120 resolution.

The posted image may have been enhanced by some post-processing trickery, but it seems like the camera can also resolve some good dynamic range. On the surface we can see a lot of sharp details without any noticeably dark shadows or overblown highlights.

There's a fair bit of purple fringing around the leaves in the background as they meet the sunlight but this is usually a fault of the lens. However, it's still too early to call the smartphone camera's quality from just one image.

Widening the camera gap

If the teaser image turns out to really come from the Oppo Find 7 it would dethrone the Nokia Lumia 1020 from having the highest 41 megapixel camera around.

The smartphone camera technology war is picking this year and thus far we've already seen the 16-megapixel camera on the quicker auto-focusing Samsung Galaxy S5. Soon enough the dual-sensor HTC One 2 will make its reveal, and the iPhone 6 is likely to feature the same 8-megapixel sensor with a wider aperture sapphire lens.

We know megapixels don't account for even half the quality of an image, but it's a big gambit coming from Oppo. The smartphone maker has already put down some big bets on the Find 7. Earlier reports said that the phone will come with a 2,560 x 1,440 resolution display in addition to the more pedestrian 1080p model.

We'll find out if all of this hardware boasting is real very soon when the Oppo Find 7 is announced on March 19.

• Megapixels aren't everything, the Lytro Light Field Camera has over 100,000 microlenses

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/oppo-find-7-snaps-a-new-image-reveals-a-50-megapixel-sensor-1230579

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Acer gives Windows Phone cold shoulder until more apps available

Turning its back on Windows Phone

Avoiding Microsoft's smartphone platform until your favorite apps are available? Turns out at least one smartphone manufacturer feels the same way and plans to sit on the sidelines until Redmond gets its act together.

The Inquirer reported that consumer electronics maker Acer may have a cozy relationship with Microsoft when it comes to Windows 8 notebooks and tablets, but believes Windows Phone 8 has much longer odds for success.

At least that's the sentiment of Acer Vice-President of EMEA Allen Burnes, a former Motorola veteran who claims his company "can't take the risk" on further Windows Phone devices until consumers have a better selection of apps at their fingertips.

"There are a whole bunch of elements around the application space which need fixing, which for us, is a a big deal," Burnes elaborated, referring to the situation as "no good for consumers."

Show us the market

The Acer veep apparently has the numbers to back up such tough talk, having released a single ill-fated Windows Phone handset back in late 2011, the Acer W4.

While Windows Phone currently enjoys more than 10 percent market share in Europe, growth there appears to have stalled, and Microsoft is apparently going to have to find a way to increase that number to at least 15 percent in order to get Acer interested again.

"The fact is, until people start talking about the great experience you can have on Windows Phone, we can't go in on it," Burnes said.

In the meantime, Acer appears fully committed to Android smartphones, despite the company getting into bed with Redmond when it comes to Windows-powered tablets and PCs.

• Speaking of Android, check out our review of the Nexus 5!

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/acer-gives-windows-phone-cold-shoulder-until-more-apps-available-1230566

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