Samsung expected to sell some 60 million smartphones in Q4

Samsung has gradually become a one-stop-shop for Android smartphones, with devices available in almost every conceivable variety for almost any budget. It's no real shocker that it is the number one smartphone manufacturer globally, and will likely continue to hold the lion's share of the pie for some time to come.

UBS financial analytics estimate that some 61.5 million units will be sold in the final 3 month period of 2012. This will mark the first time a manufacturer ships more than 60 million units in a single quarter, but is hardly surprising given that Samsung shipped some 57 million handsets in Q3.

Sales of the Galaxy S III and Note II are expected to lead the way in sales, with the S III having shipped some 5.5 million units in October alone.

Samsung's lesser-known devices, like the WP8-running Ativ S, and its Bada lineup, are not expected to have a significant impact on sales figures.

Source

Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_expected_to_sell_some_60_million_smartphones_in_q4-news-5109.php

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Jelly Bean starts rolling out to Samsung Galaxy Tab 2

Jelly Bean cropping up over the channel

The Android 4.1 Jelly Bean update has apparently started to hit the 7-inch Samsung Galaxy Tab 2.

The 7-inch slate has witnessed some rather generous prices cuts of late, in the wake of the super cheap arrival of the Google Nexus 7, Amazon Kindle Fire HD and Nook HD – and now with Jelly Bean on the way the £147 proposition (for the 8GB model) is an attractive one.

According to SamMobile, Android 4.1.1 has started to crop up on Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 devices in France, which suggests the rest of Europe will follow suit soon.

Buttery smooth

You won't need to plug your Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 into your computer as the update is available over the air, but if you really are a glutton for punishment you can go via the Kies desktop software.

Jelly Bean brings with it a slicker user interface thanks to the "Project Butter" implementation and Google's own personal assistance service dubbed Google Now, which will tell you the weather, show you the latest football scores and tell you how long it's going to take to get home.

We're waiting to hear back from Samsung for the official line on this update, so hold tight while we dig a bit deeper.

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/jelly-bean-starts-rolling-out-to-samsung-galaxy-tab-2-1114540

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Gartner: Lenovo will overtake Samsung in China next year

Samsung managed to snag the top smartphone maker spot in China, but Gartner is predicting it will soon lose it to Lenovo. As of Q3, Samsung held 16.7% of the market while Lenovo was close behind with 14.8% (Canalys reports slightly different numbers – 14% for Samsung and 13% for Lenovo).

Lenovo’s growth hasn’t been slow – during the same period last year they held only 1.7% of the market. “The brand is positioned at the mid-to-lower end which will drive much of its future growth, and this is where global brands are less competitive,” says Gartner.

The analyst company believes that the established PC maker is the only brand that can capable of competing with global brands in the local Chinese market (though according to Canalys, the other three companies in the Top 5 smartphone maker list are Chinese). Apple had a 6.9% share in Q3.

Source

Source : http://www.gsmarena.com/gartner_lenovo_will_overtake__samsung_in_china_next_year-news-5108.php

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Future launches tech. a weekly ipad magazine for tech lovers

And keep an eye on the covers

Technology is about to get a whole new type of magazine, with tech. launching on iPad and bringing you a reflective and interactive look at the events of the week.

Published by the makers of TechRadar, tech. is an exciting new launch for iPad owners, with a weekly look at the biggest events, and how the assorted media covered them, every Thursday.

Prices at just 69p (99c) an issue or £19.99/$28.99 for an annual subscription, tech. will bring some huge innovations to the world of tech media.

Reflective and interactive

Marc Chacksfield, launch editor of tech., said: "Technology is the fastest-changing, most exciting industry around and tech. reflects this.

"Out every Thursday for the iPad, the magazine will take a reflective and interactive look at the week in technology.

"Tech. will gather the most informed opinion around and package it all together into an entertaining and interactive read that's perfect for those who just don't have the time to endlessly check websites for news."

Tech. will be Future's biggest digital magazine launch, supported by a seven-figure marketing campaign.

Nick Merritt, Publisher of tech. and TechRadar, says: "tech. is a major new iPad launch and a truly unique technology magazine.

"No single website has all the best reaction and opinion, and no App provides a first class curated experience.

"This magazine solves the problem, bringing all the really essential technology writing together into one smartly edited whole, every single week. Personally, I can't wait to read it."

Tech. will be on-sale every Thursday, with the first issue hitting Newsstand 29 November.

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/computing/apple/future-launches-tech-a-weekly-ipad-magazine-for-tech-lovers-1114520

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Barnes & Noble Nook HD and Nook HD+ tablets hit UK stores in time for Christmas

Barnes & Noble has continued its assault on the UK market with the release of the Nook HD and Nook HD+ Android tablets, sold not only through its own website, but through a series of big name high street retailers too.

Barnes & Noble has expanded its range of hardware available in the UK with the announcement of the Nook HD and Nook HD+ Android tablets. Both devices are being delivered to stores this week, and anyone who pre-ordered the tablets should be receiving notification their device has shipped soon too.

This marks the second Barnes & Noble hardware launch in the UK in as many months, as it released its Nook Simple Touch e-readers in October, which further strengthens the bookseller’s place in the UK, a market where it was almost unheard of until September.

It was during September that B&N signed several important distribution deals, which will see its Nook products reach major stores such as John Lewis, Dixons and several supermarkets such as Asda and Sainsburys. In addition to these high street retailers, Barnes & Noble sell Nook tablets through a new, UK specific website. At this time, the company doesn’t operate any shops of its own.

Nook tablet features

Buyers looking at the Nook HD will get a tablet with a 7-inch screen with a 1440 x 900 pixel resolution, a dual-core 1.3GHz processor, either 8GB or 16GB of internal memory and a battery that should return around 10-hours of use. The Nook HD has been priced at £159 for the 8GB model and £189 for the 16GB.

Moving on to the Nook HD+, the price has been upped to £229 and £269, depending on whether you want 16GB or 32GB of storage space. Additionally, the screen size is increased to 9-inches and the resolution taken to 1920 x 1280 pixels, and the processor clocks in a 1.5GHz.

In the U.S., the Nook HD starts at $200 and the Nook HD+ at $270, making the UK equivalents £50/$80 more expensive than the current exchange rate would suggest. You can read our hands-on report of both B&N Android tablets here.

Nook content

Barnes & Noble have sorted the content side too, with more than 2.5 million books available at launch, plus the Nook app store and newsstand too. Then, in December, Nook Video will go live, adding films and TV shows for owners to buy or rent. There’s no information on which studios will be offering their content, with the press release only saying “a broad collection” will be offered.

All this shows how serious Barnes & Noble is about the UK market, however, it’s going to need more than just enthusiasm if it wants to make an impact. Aside from being almost unknown outside the U.S., the Nook HD and HD+ have to contend with the already established Amazon Kindle Fire and Fire HD, the Nexus 7, the Apple iPad Mini and Kobo’s Arc tablet too.

Price-wise, the Nook HD slightly undercuts the 16GB Nexus 7, matches the Kindle Fire HD but has half the memory, and is identical to the Kobo Arc. However its real winner could be the Nook HD+, as Amazon hasn’t bothered to release the Kindle Fire HD 8.9 in the UK at all.

It’s shaping up to be a five-way fight for supremacy in the cheap (or in the iPad Mini’s case, cheapish) tablet market this Christmas.

Source : http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/barnes-noble-nook-hd-and-nook-hd-released-in-the-uk/

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Confusion reigns over HTC 8S release date

Coming soon, but not really soon

The HTC 8S probably won't arrive in the UK before the end of the week, even though some retailers suggest it will.

According to Expansys, the HTC 8S in blue will be the first to arrive on our shores, with the yellow, red and black versions due later, stating "stock expected in 2 days" on its site, and telling TechRadar it "should have the HTC 8S in tomorrow."

Over at Unlocked-Mobiles we get the clearest indication of a potential HTC 8S release date – with the listing claiming "stock due in this Friday."

Not so sure

TechRadar has spoken Unlocked-Mobiles, which said: "we had a conversation with HTC yesterday and they were not forthcoming with an HTC 8S release date.

"The handset may still need to pass through a Windows approval process, which means it could be pushed back to next week."

Other sites are being a bit more conservative with their estimates, with December 4 being touted as the initial arrival date of the HTC 8S – some way off the "mid-November" promise HTC made during its launch event.

The 8S is the second smartphone from HTC to run the new Windows Phone 8 operating system and it slides in below the flagship HTC 8X, offering up a more wallet friendly Windows experience.

You'll be able to pick up the HTC 8S for a reasonable £225 SIM-free, while contracts are due start at around £21 per month.

HTC is yet to announce anything more regarding the 8S release date, but we'll let you know as soon as we hear anything.

Source : http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/mobile-phones/confusion-reigns-over-htc-8s-release-date-1114502

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Samsung gets its wish to see Apple’s deal with HTC, court rules it can’t share details with us

Samsung has been given permission to see the 10-year licensing agreement made between Apple and HTC, although only the company's lawyers will view the entire document. Samsung believes it contains details that could help it in an upcoming hearing.

Samsung has been granted permission to peruse the 10-year licensing deal made by HTC and Apple recently, however the court has ruled that the details must not be shared publicly.

The request to see the document came from Samsung’s lawyers earlier this week, as they were almost certain Apple had licensed patents to HTC that it had refused to license to them. The offending patents refer to Apple’s core user experience, which Samsung was told were not for sale.

This has already turned out to be only partially true — it may depend on whether Apple considers you a threat or not — and should they be included in HTC’s deal, it could be important ammunition for Samsung to use in its forthcoming hearing, where Apple seeks to ban eight of the Korean manufacturers’ devices from sale.

Apple and HTC have been ordered to produce the settlement agreement, however it will be for “attorneys’ eyes only,” meaning we won’t get to hear all the details. According to fosspatents.com, HTC wanted the financial details held back, a passage that amounted to 33 words, and this request has been partially fulfilled, as it’s only Samsung’s lawyers who will read the entire document.

Although we won’t get to see even the redacted version of the settlement agreement, fosspatents.com also discovered a heavily censored public version, in which 90-percent of the text was blacked out. It did contain one interesting detail though, which is should HTC have a change of ownership, the licensing deal will die. A handy clause should Samsung try to solve its problems with an acquisition.

So, is this latest twist in the ongoing Samsung/Apple legal battle important? An analysts from consultancy firm Frost and Sullivan, who spoke to the BBC, thinks so; saying “It’s clearly a very smart move from Samsung, because the general feeling is that a lot of its patent disputes with Apple are very likely to be similar to those between HTC and Apple.”

If this turns out to be true, Samsung could gain an advantage in its forthcoming hearing on December 6, and Apple may have to start to reconsider its legal strategy.

Source : http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/samsungs-request-to-see-htcapple-licensing-deal-granted/

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