Global Smartphone Market Overview

Even though the global cell phone market remained stagnant for the third quarter of 2009, the smartphone segment continues to show strong year-over-year growth, according to a new research released by Gartner.

During the past quarter, a total of 308.9 million mobile handsets were shipped worldwide, representing a minimal increase of 0.1 percent from the same period last year. In the meantime, smartphone sales show a healthy surge of 12.8 percent with more than 41 million units sold, making smartphones the fastest-growing category within the whole industry.

Apple and Research In Motion are believed to be the driving force behind the upward movement, as both companies enjoyed nearly 50 percent year-on-year growth in unit sales. RIM, the no.2 smartphone maker, increased its smartphone market share significantly from 15.9 percent to 20.8 percent, posting its highest share yet. Following behind RIM, Apple also continues to gain momentum. With 7 million iPhone devices sold in the last quarter, the company’s smartphone market share has jumped from 12.9 percent to 17.1 percent.

Nokia is still the market leader with a 39.3 percent share of the market in Q3 2009, but its outlook is not very optimistic considering the drop from its 42.3 percent share in the year-ago quarter. HTC, the fourth, rose from 4.5 percent to 6.5 percent, while Samsung, the fifth, was up from 3 percent to 3.2 percent.

On the other hand, the research firm notes that for the rest of the year, it is important for handset manufacturers to "offer products with the features that consumers and operators are demanding most strongly". These features, like touchscreens, focus on user interface, applications and content ecosystems, are believed to be those that could bring advantages over other vendors while the smartphone market continues to mature.

As many new devices, including several Android smartphones, have arrived in time for the approaching holiday season, Gartner expects sales in the fourth quarter to show growth over last year’s figure. In other words, the global smartphone market shares of handset vendors are still prone to variations for the rest of the year.

Tags: iPhone Accessories, BlackBerry Accessories, Nokia Accessories, HTC Accessories, Samsung Accessories, LG Accessories, Motorola Accessories

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Nokia Recalls 14 Million Faulty Cell Phone Chargers

Handset maker Nokia issued a global recall for approximately 14 million cell phone chargers after a potential quality issue was identified during a routine quality inspection. These faulty chargers, manufactured by one of its third-party suppliers, would be replaced without any extra cost.

According to the Finnish giant, the plastic covers of the affected chargers could come loose, exposing the charger’s internal circuits. If the components are accidentally touched when the charger is in use, it could pose an electrical shock hazard. While no incidents or injuries have been reported so far, Nokia advised owners of these potentially dangerous chargers to stop using them and ask for a free replacement as soon as possible.

The chargers concerned were manufactured by BYD Electronic Company of China. Only 2-pin chargers of certain models are involved in the replacement program. They are the AC-3E and AC-3U models made between June 15 and August 9, 2009, as well as the AC-4U model made between April 12 and October 25, 2009.

The AC-3E chargers were shipped to the European market, while the other two were sold to North and Latin America. Britain, China, Brazil, Argentina and some other countries are not affected. These three charger models are compatible with a wide range of Nokia phones, ranging from its low-end 2600 Classic handset to its pricier E71x and N95 devices.

Nokia added that BYD, maker of the chargers, would be responsible for covering the whole cost of the replacement service.

The company has established a dedicated website for users to check if their chargers should be exchanged. Customers can visit http://chargerexchange.nokia.com/ or their local Nokia site for more information.

This is not the first time Nokia had a quality issue with the cell phone accessories. In 2007, the company offered massive replacement service encompassing more than 46 million cell phone batteries made by Matsushita Battery Industrial Co. Ltd due to a risk of overheating.

In the light of these potential risks, our batteries, AC/travel chargers and car chargers are designed to prevent overcharging and short circuit, ensuring high performance and safety for charging your cell phone.

Tags: Nokia Charger, Nokia N95 Chargers, Nokia Surge (6790) Chargers, Nokia 5800 Chargers, Nokia E61i Chargers, Nokia E71x Chargers, Nokia Car Charger

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Keep Your Cell Phone Safe During the Holiday Seasons

To many people, the countdown to Thanksgiving Day means the holiday seasons are coming and it is time for crazy holiday shopping. However, you probably don’t want to go crazy by realizing your cell phone is not where it is supposed to be. As a matter of fact, the holiday seasons are the time of the year when most busy shoppers left their cell phones in the taxis.

This is according to a recent study conducted by Credant Technologies on New York taxi drivers. The study found that every month, New Yorkers left 5,000 cell phones in cabs on average, plus more than 500 other handheld devices, including iPods, laptops and . The number is especially high during holidays as people often rush in and out of the cabs with their hands full of gifts that they simply forget their precious possessions.

Losing your phone can be a really big deal, especially with the rise of smartphones, more and more people are using to store not only their contacts, messages and photos, but also sensitive personal and business information. If your phone is fallen into the wrong hands like hackers and identity thieves, your information may be stolen for illegal practice.

That is why Credant Technologies suggests encrypting your data or protecting them with a password, especially if you are a frequent traveler. In that case, even if your device is picked up by someone, your data still can not be accessed.

Of course, the best way to protect your data is never lose your cell phone. There are many accessories on the market that can help preventing your handset from going missing in transit. Holsters and belt clips allow you to attach your phone on a belt or a bag strap; snap-on covers with swivel clips protect your phone body while keeping it close at hand; and lanyards hang your device around your neck. You can also easily find a variety of cases such carrying pouches and hanging pouches that offer similar functions.

Make sure your cell phone is safe right by your side, and you can enjoy your holidays with no worry.

Tags: Belt Clip / Holster, Snap-on Covers, Phone Straps, Cellular Case, USB Flash Memory, Silicon Skin Case

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Cell Phone Accessories Market on Sluggish but Steady Recovery

According to a recently published report from marketing research firm ABI Research, the market of cell phone accessories is set to reach approximately $55 billion by the end of 2009. Despite the fact that the figure is slightly down from last year’s figure, the decline is smaller than expected, indicating that the market is improving slowly but steadily following the economy recovery.

The global cell phone accessories market is composed of phone chargers, batteries, Bluetooth headsets, handsfrees, car kits, data cables, carrying cases and other add-on items. Among these categories, the memory card segment is particularly facing challenges.

As pointed out by industry analyst Michael Morgan, the memory card market has been oversupplied and the selling prices are only a little higher than the production cost. Whereas consumers certainly welcome the low prices, this also means memory card vendors have to suffer from low profit margins. However, it seems this condition is starting to change.

"While it’s always dangerous trying to call the bottom of a market, very recently it has begun to look as if memory card prices are stabilizing and even starting to rise slightly," said the analyst.

Another development in the memory card market that benefits consumers is the increase in capacity of cards that ship with newly purchased handsets. While 512MB or 1GB cards are commonly found as in-the-box items, lately more phones are packed with 8GB cards. To increase the cards’ value to consumers, some vendors are even pre-loading various contents on the cards, such as music files, games and software.

Given the multimedia capabilities of today’s handsets, there are also memory cards with higher capacity available, like those microSDHC memory cards with 16GB or 32GB storage.

Looking ahead as a whole, Morgan said the growth of the handset accessory market would remain somewhat sluggish in 2010. However, the market value is expected to overtake the 2008 figure in 2011 and resume its strong upward movement afterwards.

Tags: Bluetooth, Memory Card, Car Charger, Cellular Charger, Cellular Handsfree, Data Cables, Silicon Skin Case

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Motorola DROID (Verizon) – the Ultimate Powerhouse for Everything

Touted as another "iPhone killer", the Motorola DROID is an impressive Android-powered smartphone released for Verizon Wireless. It fully embraces the benefits of the open platform by offering users a stunning display, an enhanced interface, integrated messaging management plus loads of Google services, making it a highly competitive rival against other touchscreen devices on the market.

The DROID is a touchscreen slider featuring a large 3.7-inch high-resolution display on the front, which explains its big size (4.6" H x 2.4" W x 0.5" D) and heavy weight (6 ounces). There are three home screens that you can customize with widgets and integrate with Facebook and Twitter for status updates. Using either the virtual keyboard with haptic feedback or the slide-out full QWERTY keyboard, typing messages is smooth and easy.

One of the flagship features Android 2.0 brings to the DROID is the Microsoft Exchange synchronization for email, calendar and contacts, as well as other POP3 and IMAP email accounts. Both Gmail and Exchange emails offer push delivery to your inbox. As a Google phone, it supports Google Talk for instant messaging. Of course, you can always find other IM and Twitter apps on the Android Market.

Another enhancement is the Web browser. Not only does it support HTML5, it is also ready for Flash Player 10.1 (available in 2010). The improved browser allows users to add visual bookmarks and toggle between multiple windows, giving you a PC-like browsing experience.

The Droid excels in its GPS and location services as well. The new Google Maps Navigation app (BETA) offers a lot more than text-based instructions. With Google Maps with Street View and Latitude, you can get voice-guided turn-by-turn directions, satellite imagery, geographic information on map and high-resolution photos of the streets. Furthermore, you will find other Google services such as Google Quick Search Box, Google Search By Voice, and Android Market for downloading free and paid apps.

As for the multimedia functions, the Droid features a built-in media player that is very similar to those found on Android devices. It supports a wide range of file formats, including MP3, AAC, MPEG-4, WAV, WMA and MIDI. You can stream video contents on the YouTube app and download songs via Amazon MP3 Store. The phone also sports with a 5-megapixel camera with dual LED flash, 4x zoom, auto-focus and DVD-quality video recording capabilities.

Applications can be stored in the phone’s integrated memory of 512MB ROM and 256MB RAM, while media files can be saved in a removable microSD card up to 32GB. Other indispensable elements include text and multimedia messaging, Wi-Fi, stereo Bluetooth, USB mass storage, visual voice mail, speaker-independent voice dialing and a standard 3.5mm audio jack.

The Motorola Droid is a powerhouse for communication, entertainment and location services. Incorporated with a sleek design, a gorgeous screen, Google's services and Android's expanding marketplace, it is definitely the most advanced and powerful device on Verizon’s fast network to date.

Tags: Motorola DROID Accessories, Up To 16GB microSD Memory Card, Bluetooth Headset, Bluetooth Cell Phone Car Kit, Motorola DROID Headsets, Motorola DROID Cases, Travel Charger For Motorola DROID

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Nokia 5800 XpressMusic – A Touchscreen Phone for Music Lovers

Compatible with GSM carriers like AT&T and T-Mobile, the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic is a touchscreen multimedia phone that belongs to its XpressMusic series. As the manufacturer’s first touchscreen device based on the Symbian S60 platform, the 3G 5800 brings a sleek design, a touch-optimized user interface, a full set of music and entertainment features and many more to Nokia followers.

Dominating the device is a 3.2-inch 360x640-pixel touchscreen display that shows 16 million colors at a 16:9 aspect ratio. It offers tactile feedback and is equipped with an automatic orientation sensor for display rotation. Above the screen, there is a dedicated Media Bar touch key for access to various multimedia features, such as music, video and web browser. Measuring 4.37 by 2.04 by 0.61 inches and weighing 3.84 ounces, the 5800 is quite compact and lightweight as a touchscreen phone.

Emphasizing music and multimedia playback, the Nokia 5800 boasts the Nseries digital music player with a 8-band graphic equalizer, supporting MP3, SpMidi, AAC, AAC+, eAAC+ and WMA audio formats. It includes stereo speakers with surround sound, a 3.5mm headphone jack and a stereo FM radio. Moreover, the phone is preloaded with RealPlayer and a video editor.

The 5800 sports with a built-in 3.2-megapixel camera with Carl Zeiss optics, dual LED flash, auto-focus, 3x digital zoom and geotagging. With a single touch, photos and videos can be taken and shared via Share on Ovi or websites like Facebook or Flickr.

For messaging, in addition to SMS and MMS, the 5800 offers instant messaging clients and supports IMAP, POP and SMTP protocols for accessing your email accounts. You can choose from several ways for text entry - a full or mini QWERTY keyboard, an alphanumeric keypad or a handwriting recognition tool.

The full HTML web browser has Flash 9 support and works with the accelerometer for either landscape or portrait orientation. Other advanced features include speaker-independent voice commands, Bluetooth 2.0, Wi-Fi network, plus GPS support with access to Nokia Maps. Internal memory only amounts to 81MB, but you can expand the storage capacity with a microSD card up to 16GB.

With an attractive design and a bunch of strong music and entertainment features, the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic is certainly an impressive multimedia device that gives you the greatest music experience.

Tags: Up To 16GB microSD Memory Card, Bluetooth Headset, Bluetooth Cell Phone Car Kit, Touch Stylus Pen, Nokia 5800 Cases, Nokia 5800 Car Chargers, Nokia 5800 Chargers

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Cell Phone Use Leads to More Diversified Social Network

There is a general belief that people are becoming more isolated as a result of advanced technologies, like cell phones and the Internet, because they limit the social diversity of relationships. However, a recent study reveals that this is not true – in fact, these technologies can even help you build a larger and more diversified social network.

The Pew Internet & American Life Project study surveyed 2,512 adults in the summer of 2008. Surprisingly, it is found that even though we are spending more time in front of screens nowadays, this growing embrace of mobile technology does not come at the expense of real-life relationships. Instead, it increases a person’s social interaction and maximizes exposure to a wider variety of races and nationalities.

According to the report, the diversity of a person’s core network, which comprises the closest and most significant confidants, tends to be 25 percent larger for cell phone users.

"It turns out that those who use the Internet and mobile phones have notable social advantages. People use the technology to stay in touch and share information in ways that keep them socially active and connected to their communities," said Professor Keith Hampton, the lead author of the report.

On average, an American has contact with close friends and family on 195 days a year by cell phone; on 125 days by landline phone; on 125 days via text messaging; on 72 days by email; and on 55 days via instant messaging. This shows that cellular phones are playing important roles in daily communication among Americans, which even prevail over the use of traditional landline phones.

Furthermore, the report said that the use of popular social networking sites, such as Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and LinkedIn, helps expanding the diversity of personal network by providing an outlet for "discussion networks that are more likely to contain people from different backgrounds".

With the rise of these online activities, keyboard-equipped messaging and social networking phones from vendors like Nokia, Samsung, LG, HTC and Motorola are very likely to continue their high-profile popularity among cell phone users.

Tags: Motorola CLIQ Accessories, HTC Tilt 2 Accessories, Samsung Rogue (SCH-u960) Accessories, Samsung Messager II (SCH-r560) Accessories, LG Xenon (GR500) Accessories, Nokia Surge (6790) Accessories

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Motorola Posts Small Q3 Profit; Future Smartphones Mostly Android

Motorola has reported an unexpected third-quarter quarterly profit for the year mainly as a result of its aggressive cost cutting. However, the manufacturer is still struggling in its mobile phone division with continuously declining sales.

Motorola posted a profit of $12 million for the three-month quarter ended October 3, compared with the $397 million loss in the same quarter a year ago. This was the second straight quarter of earnings after months of heavy losses.

The company’s performance as a whole has been improving, but its mobile device unit is not looking good. For the third quarter, although it managed to narrow its operating loss from $840 million to $183 million, cell phone sales only totaled $1.7 billion, significantly down 46 percent from the year-ago quarter. 13.6 million handsets were shipped during the period, compared with 14.8 million in Q2 and 25.4 million a year ago. Given that Sony Ericsson has sold 14.1 million devices, Motorola is now probably the fifth handset maker in the world with less than 5 percent of global market share.

While its cell phone share continues to shrink, the company is pinning its faith on new smartphones powered by Google’s Android operating system. Two of them, the Motorola CLIQ from T-Mobile USA and the Motorola DROID from Verizon Wireless, have arrived on the U.S. market to meet the coming holiday season demand.

"The introductions of our new products powered by Android are important milestones as we begin to address the mobilization of the Internet and the growing demand for modern smartphones," said Motorola’s co-CEO Sanjay Jha in a statement. "Next year, we will continue to expand our smartphone portfolio and deliver improved financial results."

Jha also added Motorola plans to release more than twenty new smartphones in 2010, with a majority of them running the Android software. Despite its historical support of Windows Mobile and other enterprise phones, the company will put more focus on developing handsets targeting at consumers, prosumers and social messaging users. As these market categories are growing much faster than the corporate market, it seems that this time Motorola is on the right track to turn its fortune around.

Tags: Motorola Accessories, Motorola DROID Accessories, Motorola CLIQ Accessories, Sony Ericsson Accessories, T-Mobile Accessories, Verizon Wireless Accessories

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BlackBerry Storm2 9550 – the Sophisticated Touchscreen Phone for Business

Improved over the original, the BlackBerry Storm2 9550 is RIM’s second-generation touchscreen smartphone released for Verizon Wireless. While offering the equally powerful email and messaging features, the Storm2 brings users a number of significant enhancements, such as the updated BlackBerry OS, a better touch interface and Wi-Fi access.

The strengths of the Storm2 begin with its enhanced screen display. The 3.25-inch 480x360-pixel capacitive touchscreen with 65k colors is equipped with the next-generation SurePress technology. It now not only allows for key rollover and faster typing but also multi-touch, meaning you can touch more than one part of the screen at once to select multiple items. Like before, there is a QWERTY keyboard in portrait or landscape mode depending on the phone’s orientation. In addition, it sports with a proximity sensor to prevent accidental clicks when you are taking calls.

The messaging capabilities are as impressive as usual. The Storm2 allows access up to ten POP3 or IMAP email accounts. With BlackBerry Enterprise Server supporting Microsoft Exchange, IBM Lotus Domino or Novell GroupWise, it provides real-time corporate email delivery to enterprise users. Using the Blackberry Desktop Manager, synchronizing mails and messages on your smartphone with your PC or Mac. Moreover, DataViz Documents To Go is pre-installed for viewing and editing Word, Excel and PowerPoint files.

For instant messaging, other than BlackBerry Messenger, the new Storm is preloaded with IM clients for AIM, Windows Live, Yahoo, Google Talk and ICQ. Text messaging in threaded view and multimedia messaging are onboard.

Another improvement the BlackBerry OS 5.0 brings to the device is its HTML browser. Apart from speed upgrade, the browser also allows real-time streaming protocol for you to stream videos from popular sites like YouTube, though it still lacks Flash support.

The Storm2 features a number of applications itself and you can find more from BlackBerry App World. For GPS navigation, you will get BlackBerry Maps with text-based turn-by-turn instructions and Verizon’s VZ Navigator with voice-guided directions. There are also download links for popular social networking sites, such as Facebook, MySpace and Flickr.

The Storm2 sports with a media player that supports an array of audio and video formats, such as MP3, AAC, WMA, MPEG4 and WMV. Using BlackBerry Media Sync, you can easily sync the Storm2 with iTune and Windows Media Player. The built-in 3.2-megapixel camera comes with LED flash, auto-focus, variable zoom and video recording capabilities.

As for the form factor, the Storm2 looks much alike its predecessor, measuring 4.43 by 2.45 by 0.55 inches and weighing 5.64 ounces. It includes 2GB of onboard memory and a microSD memory card slot that accepts up to 32GB. Other advanced features like dual-model functionality, 3G support, Wi-Fi connectivity, Bluetooth 2.1, voice-activated dialing and a 3.5mm headphone jack are also offered.

The BlackBerry Storm2 9550 makes great strides by improving its system, screen display as well as core functions. If you are a business professional who loves touchscreen devices, you will definitely be delighted to lay your hands on the Storm2.

Tags: BlackBerry Storm2 9550 Accessories, Up To 16GB microSD Memory Card, Bluetooth Headset, BlackBerry Storm2 9550 Headsets, BlackBerry Storm2 9550 Cases, Holster For BlackBerry Storm2 9550, Car Charger For BlackBerry Storm2 9550

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Touchscreen Devices on the Rise

Thanks to iPhone, touchscreen cell phone adoption in the U.S. is swelling at such a rapid rate over the past year. Its growth rate has significantly surpassed that of the overall smartphone market, reports comScore.

Based on a study released by the market research company, the number of people who own touchscreen based devices in the U.S. has skyrocketed by 159 percent between August 2008 and 2009, up from 9.2 million to 23.8 million users. By comparison, the adoption of smartphones also saw a 63 percent jump, translating into 33.7 million users by August 2009. The figures reveal that consumers are increasingly embracing touchscreen interfaces to navigate in a more intuitive and easy-to-use way.

Unsurprisingly, the Apple iPhone was the one who set the trend in the industry for touchscreen devices. By making up nearly one-third (32.9 percent) of all touch-sensitive phones owned by users aged 13 and older, the iPhone ranked as the top and is far ahead of other handsets.

The LG Dare and the LG Voyager took the distant second and third places, accounting for 8.7 percent and 7.8 percent of the market respectively. The BlackBerry Storm followed behind with 7.0 percent, while Palm Treo captured 6.5 percent. Other devices that made the top-ten list are Samsung Instinct, T-Mobile G1, HTC Touch, Samsung Glyde and LG Xenon.

Another worth mentioning fact is that touchscreen handsets are more popular among younger users. According to ComScore, owners of touchscreen devices represent more than half of all mobile subscribers. It is also found that 20.6 percent of touchscreen users range in age between 18 and 24, while only less than 5 percent are 65 and older.

Looking ahead, with more new touchscreen-centric handsets, particularly those running the Android operating system, flooding into the mobile marketplace, competition will continue to heat up and we can expect to see an even higher adoption rate in the near future.

Tags: iPhone Accessories, LG Accessories, BlackBerry Accessories, Palm Treo Accessories, Samsung Accessories, T-Mobile Accessories, HTC Accessories

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Motorola V860 Barrage – the Rugged Push-to-talk Clamshell Handset

Currently available from Verizon Wireless, the Motorola V860 Barrage is a solid clamshell phone that brings out its best even under extreme environments. By integrating Motorola’s push-to-talk (PTT) technology and a set of functional elements into a rugged form factor, it guarantees Verizon customers both durability and versatility.

The highlight of the Barrage is no doubt its push-to-talk function, as it is one of the few Motorola handsets to offer PTT outside Nextel’s network. By pressing the dedicated PTT button, you can turn the phone into a walkie-talkie and make group calling instantly.

The flip phone sports with a dual-screen design. While the 2.2-inch internal display supports 65k colors and 176x200 pixels, the external one measures 1.6 inches and shows 65k colors. The latter one works with the touch-sensitive music controls underneath for accessing the music player. Playable formats include AAC, MP3, MPEG-4, WAV, WMA, WMV and more.

As for messaging features, apart from SMS, MMS and instant messaging, its Mobile Email connects to services like Yahoo, MSN Hotmail, AOL and Windows Live. You can attach video clips to multimedia messages after shooting with the 2.0-megapixel camera and camcorder, which has 8x digital zoom and brightness adjustment capabilities but no flash.

In addition, the Barrage supports Verizon’s full range of 3G services, including V CAST Video on Demand and V CAST Music with Rhapsody. The phone is also preloaded with GPS-based VZ Navigator and the Bing search application. Other useful functions include stereo Bluetooth, WAP 2.0 Web browsing, USB mass storage, PC syncing, voice commands, a 2.5mm jack and a 1,000-entry phone book. It offers 125MB of user memory and accepts an external microSD card up to 16GB.

The Barrage has a solid and sturdy construction, which is tested to resist shock, drop, vibration, solar radiation, extreme temperatures and other tough conditions. Its waterproof quality even allows it to survive when submerged in water. It may be a little bit big by measuring 2.09 by 3.78 by 0.96 inches, but is still portable at 4.2 ounces.

In general, the Motorola V860 Barrage is an affordable, functional and most importantly, solid media phone that not only matches your toughness, and also helps you get through unfavorable situations.

Tags: Motorola Barrage V860 Accessories, Up To 16GB microSD Memory Card, Bluetooth Headset, Motorola Handsfrees, Motorola Barrage V860 Cases, Car Charger For Motorola Barrage V860

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Samsung’s Strong Handset Sales Help Boosting its Q3 Profits

Samsung Electronics announced its third-quarter financial results for the ongoing year, registering a record-high quarterly net profit partly as a result of its strong sales in the cell phone division.

The South Korean handset maker said its July-September operating income for the telecommunications unit was $871 million, 23 percent up compared to the year-ago quarter. The company sold 60.2 million cell phones in the quarter, giving it a 16 percent year-on-year increase from the 51.8 million units shipped in Q3 2008.

The surge in sales was mainly brought by the touchscreen and keyboard devices introduced into developed markets, as well as the key models within emerging markets. They helped pushing its global handset market share from 19.2 percent in the previous quarter up to 20.8 percent – placing it on the No.2 position following only behind the Finnish manufacturer Nokia.

According to Strategic Analytics, this was the first time a vendor other than Nokia has sold more than one-fifth of the world’s handsets since Motorola’s heyday with its RAZR series in 2006.
On a company-wide basis, Samsung posted the highest quarterly profit of $3.14 billion, tripled from a net profit of $1.0 billion a year earlier. It has now recorded three consecutive quarters of net profit after suffering its first loss during the last quarter of 2008 due to the global economic slowdown.

For the last quarter of the year, Samsung expects even stronger sales supported by seasonal demand for consumer electronics and demand from emerging markets. The company said its "outlook is positive for further growth as the economic recovery continues into 2010". Other than low-end handsets, Samsung plans to focus on high-end AMOLED touchscreen devices, which run on Google’s Android and Microsoft’s Windows Mobile 6.5 operating systems.

Still, increasing competition from rivals such as Nokia and LG in the mid-range to low-range markets may pose threats to Samsung, as this can lower the average selling price and the profit margin of its handsets.

Tags: Samsung Accessories, Nokia Accessories, Motorola Accessories, Motorola RAZR V3 Accessories, Motorola RAZR2 V9 Accessories, LG Accessories

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HTC Imagio (Verizon) – the Ultimate Multimedia Smartphone

The HTC Imagio is the first Verizon phone to run on the new Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional operating system. It features a full suite of V CAST media services, a large touchscreen, an updated user interface and a 5-megapixel camera, which combine into an all-in-one multimedia device for Verizon customers.

The Imagio is the first smartphone to support an array of Verizon’s V CAST services. Other than V CAST Video for streaming video clips and V CAST Music with Rhapsody for music download over-the-air, it sports with the carrier’s live mobile television service called Mobile TV. Also, there is a YouTube application for more video viewing options.

For music and video playback, you can use Windows Media Player 10 Mobile that plays a variety of formats, such as MP3, AAC, AAC+, WMA, MPEG4, WMV and AVI. Photo taking and video recording are easy using the 5.0-megapixel auto-focus camera and camcorder. Moreover, you will find a TV antenna on the back of the handset, which doubles as a kickstand for hands-free video watching.

Running on Windows Mobile 6.5, the Imagio offers Microsoft Office Mobile Suite, Adobe Reader, plus some new features including the "My Phone" backup service and Windows Marketplace for Mobile. As for web browsing, apart from an updated Internet Explorer Mobile browser, you can use the preloaded Opera Mobile browser and choose to view in mobile or full desktop version.

The Imagio is a global roaming phone with data access in more than 185 destinations around the world. Other than voice calls, it also offers a broad range of messaging choices, ranging from text and multimedia messaging to instant messaging via AIM, Windows Live and Yahoo messengers. With Microsoft Office Outlook Mobile, you can sync your emails, calendar, contacts and tasks over-the-air. Verizon also offers Mobile Email for accessing your POP3 and IMAP email accounts.

Boasting a large 3.6-inch touch-sensitive display with 480x800 WVGA resolution and 65,000-color output, it offers a virtual QWERTY keyboard and works with HTC’s TouchFlo user interface. Other added features found on the phone are VZ Navigator, Microsoft’s Bing search engine, Visual Voice Mail service, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth support and a 3.5mm audio jack. The phone accommodates a microSD memory card up to 16GB while offering 256MB internal memory. It measures 4.65" high by 2.43" wide by 0.55" deep and weighs 5.3 ounces.

All these enhanced features add up to a high-end smartphone that satisfies both your entertainment and business needs. Verizon customers who want to strike a balance between work and life will definitely want to own one.

Tags: HTC Imagio Accessories, Up To 16GB microSD Memory Card, Bluetooth Headset, HTC Imagio Cases, Lithium Battery For HTC Imagio, Car Charger For HTC Imagio, USB Data Cable For HTC Imagio

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BlackBerry Bold 9700 – Even Bolder and Cooler (Comparing with the Bold 9000)

The BlackBerry Bold 9700, also called the Bold 2 or the Onyx, is released for AT&T and T-Mobile as an upgrade to the popular Bold 9000 we previously introduced. Running on BlackBerry OS 5.0, the Bold 9700 keeps the best of its predecessor, but further improves itself by bringing a more pocket-friendly design and a wealth of improved features.

Size and Weight
The new Bold delivers a slimmer and more compact form factor by measuring 4.29 by 2.36 by 0.56 inches. It also weighs significantly less at 4.27 ounces (down from 4.8 ounces).

Data Input and Navigation
While the 35-key QWERTY keyboard is similar to the old one, the 9700 replaces the original Bold’s trackball with a touch-sensitive optical trackpad. You can now scroll through menus by sliding your finger, and select an item with a slight press and click.

Display
Despite its smaller size, the Bold 9700 boasts the same 2.6-inch 65k-color display with a higher 480x360-pixel resolution, creating a vivid viewing experience both for texts, photos and videos.

Camera
The 3.2-megapixel camera with variable zoom, auto-focus, flash and video recording is a solid enhancement from the previous 2.0-megapixel snapper.

Speed
The new Bold supports high-speed 3G network and Wi-Fi connectivity for faster web browsing. Like the 9000, the 9700 is equipped with a 624MHz mobile processor to deliver smooth and speedy operation.

Email and Messaging
Like any other Blackberry devices, the Bold 9700 features a full suite of email options. With BlackBerry Enterprise Server and BlackBerry Internet Service, you can add up to 10 personal (such as AOL Mail, Windows Live Hotmail, Gmail or Yahoo Mail) and work email addresses to your smartphone. It can also connect to instant messaging services like Yahoo Messenger, Google Talk, AOL Instant Messenger and ICQ. Using the Blackberry Desktop Manager, synchronizing mails and messages between your smartphone and PC is rapid and effortless.

Memory
The updated Bold doubles its internal flash memory to 256MB and also sports with a microSD card slot for memory expansion up to 32GB.

Other Features
Apart from those mentioned, the Bold 9700 also shares a number of similar features with the original, which include a standard 3.5mm headphone jack, media player, speakerphone, text and multimedia messaging, built-in GPS and Bluetooth support.

Being the successor of the 9000, the BlackBerry Bold 9700 has fixed many of the weaknesses found on the original, which definitely makes it a top-notch and powerful business-oriented smartphone for mobile professionals.

Tags: BlackBerry Bold 9700 Accessories, Up To 16GB microSD Memory Card, Bluetooth Cell Phone Car Kit, BlackBerry Bold 9700 Headsets, Clear Silicon Skin Case For BlackBerry 9700, Original BlackBerry Micro-USB Car Charger

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AT&T Posts Flat Q3 Results, Adds 2 Million Subscribers

AT&T, the largest telecommunications provider in the U.S., has recently posted their financial results for the third quarter of 2009. The overall results seem flat as the company’s net income has slightly dropped, but its wireless business sure looks promising even under bad economy with the help of Apple’s iPhone.

For the period ended 30 September, AT&T earned $3.2 billion of net income, dipping only 1.2 percent from $3.23 billion in the same quarter a year earlier. Its total revenue fell by 1.6 percent to $30.9 billion, matching analysts’ expectations.

While its financial performance changed little, the wireless carrier surprised analysts by adding 2 million wireless subscribers in Q3. The addition matched the pace of last year and boosted the company’s total subscribers to 81.6 million at the expense of other rival carriers. Total churn rate also posted a record-low of 1.43 percent, down from 1.69 percent in 2008, meaning there were more customers coming in than leaving.

The inflow of new customers is believed to be driven by the 3.2 million iPhone activated in the quarter, which surpasses the 2.4 million units of addition in last year’s quarter by 33 percent. Among these iPhone subscribers, 40 percent were new to AT&T, which proves that the iPhone has been playing a vital role in expanding the carrier’s customer base.

Apart from iPhone, AT&T also saw strong growth in sales of smartphones and messaging-centric handsets, as the carrier shipped a total of 4.3 million 3G integrated wireless devices in the quarter. Its wireless business continues to grow by generating $3.6 billion in wireless data revenue, 33.6 percent up from a year ago. On the other hand, the traditional landline unit is shrinking quickly even though it still makes up the majority of the carrier’s revenue.

AT&T's recent focus has been upgrading its network and increasing revenue from selling data services, encouraging email use and Internet surfing. But at the same time, its strong performance in the wireless unit also hinges on its exclusive deal with Apple. This means the end of AT&T’s iPhone exclusivity, which has been rumored for quite some time, is likely to put the carrier’s future financial results in jeopardy.

Tags: Apple iPhone Accessories, Apple iPhone 3G Accessories, Apple iPhone 3G S Accessories, AT&T Cell Phone Accessories, Verizon Wireless Accessories

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Samsung Intrepid SPH-i350 – Keeps Your Office within Arms Reach

Released for Sprint, the Samsung Intrepid i350 is a solid messaging world phone running on the new Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system. Apart from its world roaming capabilities, it also comes with a touchscreen, a QWERTY keyboard, a 3.2-megapixel camera and plenty of applications and services for the best communication experience.

Designed to work with both CDMA and GSM network, the dual-mode phone allows you to make calls within the country or overseas. Measuring 4.88 by 2.44 by 0.53 inches and weighing 3.2 ounces, the Intrepid is relatively compact and thin as a smartphone. It sports with a 2.5-inch touchscreen with 320x240-pixel resolution on top and a full QWERTY keyboard underneath, which works well with the customizable interface of Windows Mobile 6.5 that displays new emails, text messages, missed calls and calendar appointments.

Email functions are top-notch as the Intrepid provides Direct Push Technology for real-time email deliver, plus Microsoft Exchange for synchronization with Outlook calendar, contacts and tasks. All data can be backed using the Microsoft My Phone service, allowing you to remotely restore or erase the data if you have lost the phone. In addition, it supports POP3 and IMAP email accounts and AIM, Windows Live and Yahoo instant messaging. Text and multimedia messaging is onboard as well.

For multimedia features, apart from the Windows Media Player Mobile that supports a wide range of music and video files, the Intrepid also has a dedicated YouTube application. There is a 3.2-megapixel auto-focus camera for snapping photos and capturing videos, which also works with SmartReader, a mobile scanner capable of grabbing information from business cards and documents.

As a Windows Mobile phone, the Intrepid offers a full pack of Microsoft applications. They include Internet Explorer Mobile 6 with Flash Lite support, Microsoft Office Mobile Suite, as well as Microsoft’s Tellme service, which lets you make calls, send text messages, search nearby businesses on the Web and more just by "talking" to the phone.

In addition, the Intrepid supports some standard Sprint services, like GPS-based Sprint Navigation, Sprint Music Store, Sprint TV and Sprint NFL Mobile. You will also find a number of useful preloaded applications such as MSN Weather, Adobe Reader LE, Solitaire and an RSS reader, and more free and paid applications can be found on Windows Marketplace for Mobile.

Connectivity options include stereo Bluetooth support, Wi-Fi networking and a 3.5mm headphone jack. The Intrepid comes with 512MB ROM/256MB RAM user memory and accepts a microSD memory card up to 16GB.

Among the numerous smartphones available on the market, the Samsung Intrepid SPH-i350 may not belong to the most outstanding bunch, but its messaging-heavy features and Windows Mobile 6.5 update make it a decent and affordable alternative for business users.

Tags: Samsung Intrepid (SPH-i350) Accessories, Up To 16GB microSD Memory Card, Bluetooth Cell Phone Car Kit, Samsung Intrepid (SPH-i350) Cases, Lithium Battery For Samsung Intrepid SPH-i350, Travel Charger For Samsung Intrepid i350

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LG Cell Phone Sales Boost in Q3 2009

LG Electronics posted strong third-quarter financial performance partly as a result of record-breaking cell phone sales. Unlike Nokia who reported a worrying loss, the Korean company’s global profit has jumped nearly 50 percent year-over-year to $733 million in the third quarter of 2009.

LG, the world’s third-largest handset maker behind Nokia and Samsung, posted significant growth in handset shipments both on sequential and annual bases. During the July-September period, the manufacturer sold 31 million handsets, representing a 6 percent increase from the second quarter, and a 37 percent jump from the year-ago quarter. Handset sales amounted to $3.53 billion, up nearly 25 percent on a year-to-year basis.

The Korean manufacturer said its strong fiscal performance in the third quarter is driven by sales of its array of messaging devices and the affordable touchscreen smartphone, the Cookie. The increase in shipments across Europe and the emerging markets managed to offset the decline in sales in North America and South Korea.

However, LG’s focus on lower-end cell phones and the falling handset prices are putting pressure on its profit margin, which fell from 11.5 percent in Q3 2008 to 11 percent in Q2 2009, and further dropped to 8.8 percent in the last quarter. Also, the dip in shipments to North America due to growing demand for smartphones and high-end devices shows a sign that the mid-range handset market is shrinking.

As LG plans to expand investment in both smartphones and low-end phones, it expects steady growth and higher shipments in the last quarter of the year than the third quarter. To prepare for the coming holiday season, it will introduce several new handsets, including its first Android-powered phone, the Etna, and three devices running Windows Mobile operating system.

Tags: LG Accessories, Nokia Accessories, Samsung Accessories, LG Neon (GT365) Accessories, LG Bliss (UX700) Accessories, LG Rumor2 LX265 Accessories

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Hydrogen-Powered Cell Phone Charger to Debut in Taiwan in 2012?

For years, scientists have been working on finding alternative energy sources in the hope of solving the problem of energy crisis. Recently, a group of Taiwanese researchers claimed a success in the field with the invention of a hydrogen based cell phone charger to replace traditional energy supply.

According to the scientists at the Industrial Technology Research Institute in Taiwan, the high-tech gadget they developed can operate without being plugged to main electricity. Instead, it uses hydrogen power to recharge a conventional mobile handset battery. They state that the charger can perform a complete charge in approximately two hours, although the kind of battery capacity is not specified.

As hydrogen is easily recyclable, the new device is highly energy-efficient and will help protect the environment. Tsau Fanghei, a researcher at the institute said the team would continue to improve and refine the charger and they "hope the hydrogen-powered device can replace current cell phone recharge systems in 2012", which is just three years from now.

Ma Hwong-wen, an environmental scientist at the National Taiwan University, commented the invention appeared to be breaking new ground. "Hydrogen, in theory, will produce no hazard to the environment," said Ma.

The Taiwanese government has also shown its support to the technology. As an island that imports about 98 percent of its energy, Taiwan is under great pressure to develop new energy sources. In the meantime, this charger will be a key to boost its reputation to become a player in developing green and environmental-friendly power solutions.

"The government hopes to acquire a slot in the global green energy industry's production chain with the hydrogen fuel cell technologies," said Yeh Hui-ching, the Director of the Taiwan’s Bureau of Energy, according to Taiwan's Central News Agency.

The invention of hydrogen fuel chargers represents a big step forward in the field of green mobile technologies. But until their market debut, we still need to rely on those traditional travel chargers, car chargers or solar-powered chargers to juice up our handsets.

Tags: Car Charger, AC / travel Charger, Portable Solar Charger For Cell Phone, Universal Battery Travel Charger, Universal to North American Wall Plug Adapter, USB Car Charger Adapter

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HTC Tilt 2 (AT&T) – Your Perfect Business Partner

Recently joined AT&T’s lineup, the HTC Tilt 2 is an 3G-enabled smartphone with an adjustable touchscreen and a slide-out keyboard. It is optimized for business use by combining Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system, HTC’s TouchFLO 3D interface, the noise-canceling technology and several revamped features.

The Tilt 2 is not only an upgrade to the original Tilt, but also regarded as a variant of the Touch Pro2. It is a bit heavy by weighing 6.3 ounces and measuring 4.57 x 2.34 x 0.65 inches, but boasting a 3.6-inch WVGA resistive touchscreen up front and a spacious QWERTY keyboard underneath give a good reason for its large size. Apart from a built-in accelerometer, it also comes equipped with gravity, proximity and ambient light sensors to maximize the usability of its touchscreen.

Using HTC’s Straight Talk technology with noise cancellation, the Tilt 2 delivers high-fidelity voice through the duplex speakerphones for clear and loud conference calling. You can activate the speakerphone simply by turning the phone face down, and mute the microphone by pressing the dedicated mute button.

Running on Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional platform, the new Tilt brings you access to Windows Marketplace for Mobile for downloading applications, Microsoft’s My Phone service for backing up your data, plus an improved Internet Explorer Mobile browser with Flash Lite support. As expected, you will also find Office Mobile for editing Word and Excel documents and viewing PowerPoint presentations. The new Tilt uses the TouchFLO 3D interface on top of Windows Mobile to enhance navigation experience.

Moreover, the Tilt 2 features a suite of messaging capabilities, including SMS text, MMS picture and IM instant messaging via popular services like AOL, Yahoo and MSN. It supports a wide variety of POP3 and IMAP accounts and offers Office Mobile Outlook to check emails, photos, music and weather.

As for multimedia features, other than Microsoft Media Player Mobile for audio and video playback, the Tilt 2 is also preloaded with a digital audio player, a FM radio, AT&T Music and AT&T Video Share. There is a 3.2-megapixel camera with auto-focus, panoramic mode, geotagging and video capture capabilities. The phone supports a microSD/SDHC memory card up to 32GB while offering 512MB ROM/288MB RAM.

In addition to advanced features like Wi-Fi networking, USB mass storage and Bluetooth 2.1 connectivity, the carrier also brings a bunch of preloaded applications, such as AT&T Navigator for audible turn-by-turn directions, Facebook, YouTube, Mobile Banking and WikiMobile.

To sum up, the HTC Tilt 2 is an all-round smartphone with improved hardware, an easy-to-use interface and an updated operating system, which makes it a good companion for AT&T’s business customers.

Tags: HTC Tilt 2 Accessories, Up To 16GB microSD Memory Card, Bluetooth Cell Phone Car Kit, Stereo Handsfree For HTC Tilt 2, HTC Tilt 2 Cases, Lithium Battery For HTC Tilt 2, Car Charger For HTC Tilt 2

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Customers More Satisfied with Smartphones than with Feature Phones; Apple Takes the Lead

A recent customer satisfaction study by J.D. Power and Associates reveals that smartphone users are becoming more satisfied with their smartphones, while overall satisfaction among basic cell phone owners is on a decline.

According to the study conducted from January to June 2009 by the marketing information company, overall smartphone satisfaction has increased considerably compared to 6 months ago, as design, features, usability and software of these devices have improved over time. On the contrary, satisfaction among traditional handset owners has slightly dropped, which is likely due to the absence of advanced features that can be found on smartphones.

In both the consumer and business smartphone markets, Apple takes the lead by scoring 811 and 803 out of 1,000 index points respectively, thanks to its popular iPhone. The company excels other smartphone makers in all categories, including ease of operation, operating system, features and physical design, but excluding the battery performance. Research in Motion, the maker of BlackBerry, comes in second in business rankings with a score of 724 and third in consumer rankings with 759 points.

When it comes to satisfaction level of non-smartphone devices, LG wins in all factors with a score of 723, making it the only manufacturer that scores above the industry average of 701 points. Motorola, Sanyo and Sony Ericsson follow LG in the rankings.

Apart from these, the report also shows that the number of people who purchased more affordable smartphones (less than $100) has jumped over the past 6 months. J.D. Power believes this is a result of the attractive rebates or discounts offered by wireless carriers to attract more customers and increase market share.

In the meantime, carriers are offering deep discounts on feature phones, with 43 percent of all traditional handset users getting their handset free of charge. However, these owners tend to be less satisfied since the handsets often do not come with the full suite of features they want. Therefore, other than the price concern, it is also important for carriers and cell phone makers to ensure the features, usability and designs of their phones do meet consumers’ expectation so as to build up the long-term brand loyalty.

Tags: iPhone Accessories, BlackBerry Accessories, LG Accessories, Motorola Accessories, Sanyo Accessories, Sony Ericsson Accessories

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