The Week in Android News for 29 January 2012

This week's news has mainly been focused on figures with many manufacturers including Samsung and Motorola reporting their Q4 2011 earnings. There has also been some good news on the Android Tablet front with a positive increase in market share. 

If you're keen to see what's been happening in the world of Android for the last week then keep reading after the jump.

Apple's smartphone numbers in perspective

The web has just suffered a collective head rush on the news that Apple has sold 37.04 million iPhones, a doubling of sales from the previous quarter. Spectacular Android destroying stuff!

Or is it really? Let's have a wee look, shall we?

Using Apple's own earning statements for the last 15 months, and beginning with Q4 2010 as a base from which to work, we can put that performance into some perspective. If you get bored with figures and such, you might want to skip to the next bit, but if you're brave enough to follow the bouncing ball, the journey is enlightening.

Sep 2010 Q4 – 14.10 M

Dec 2010 Q1 – 16.24 M – 115.5% (increased)

Mar 2011 Q2 – 18.60 M – 114.5% (increased)

Jun 2011 Q3 – 20.34 M – 109.0% (increased)

Sep 2011 Q4 – 17.07 M – 84.0% (decreased)

Dec 2011 Q1 – 37.04 M – 217% (increased)

Android grabs a bigger chunk of the tablet market

iPad share shrinks as Android looks on

Strategy Analytics is reporting that tablet market leader, once seemingly omnipotent Apple, has again lost share to Android in the latest quarter, consecutive quarters indicating that it's now a trend. After a slow start in the tablet space, Android has picked up some real momentum, fueled by a variety of consumer targeted devices from many manufacturers offering the buyer something previously lacking, choice.

While Android's tablet share sat at 29% at the close of 2010, that number has increased to 39% at the end of 2011. In contrast, Apple's share has fallen from 68% to 58% over the same period and you don't need to be a mathematician to work out where the iPad's market went.

Mid-range Tablet Comparison

Over the last year or so tablets have become the new gadgets that many people feel the need to acquire. While most people will not be able to find a use case solid enough to justify the purchase, they can definitely be a fun toy. For those that want to know their uses; tablets excel at web browsing, media playback and touch based gaming. With that said most people are not going to be willing to shell out $1000 for something that has (arguably) less functionality than a $600 laptop. 

I have compiled this quick comparison of mid-range tablets that are available right now in New Zealand so keep reading after the jump if you are interested.

Dutch court rejects Apple's pleas for ban on Galaxy Tab

Following an earlier loss in its campaign to ban its competitor's products in the Netherlands, Samsung's primary distribution centre in Europe, Apple appealed (no pun intended) to The Hague court to have that ruling overturned and a sales injunction applied.

Today's ruling is the final word on that particular battle and the Galaxy Tab 10.1 can continue to be legally sold in the netherlands. In response to the decision, Samsung's Marketing Manager, Geert Mol stated "We are very pleased. This proves that the Galaxy Tab 10.1 is distinctive and supports what we have always said."

The legal action was initiated under legislation that allows for a corporation to register something called a “community design” which broadly interpreted means that signature elements of a product's look and feel can be protected from imitation by another entity attempting to trade on the similarities. Today's decision is an outright rejection of Apple's claims that the Korean phone maker was in breach of said community design.

4G speeds top 32Mbps down on Oz telco... Fast? You bet!

Image courtesy of Matt at AusDroid

Telstra, Australia's equivalent of TelecomNZ, has their 4G service up and running and as the accompanying picture reveals, the data speeds are pretty impressive.

At the launch of the telco's new HTC Velocity 4G handset, AusDroid contributor Matt snapped the pic with the needles pegged at 32.8Mbps down and 11.2Mbps up. Hard not to be envious of that performance.

However, Trevor Long doesn't suffer from any such envy as he got even better results, recording a spectacular 39.8Mbps down and 11.9Mbps up.

So will 4G be worth it? My vote is yep. But when we finally get it in godzone is anyone's guess. Or if you do know something, feel free to share with your pals at AndroidNZ. Promise we won't tell a soul. Maybe...

Source: AusDroid & Trevor Long

Android retains US market share crown despite strong iPhone showing

Despite the pent up demand in the US for Apple's iPhone, resulting from its later than usual release, the iDevice fell short of the numbers achieved by its competitor OS, Android. That poorer than anticipated result is somewhat of a surprise cosidering the US is Apple's spiritual home and the brand does disproportionately well there, whereas in the UK, the iPhone range actually outsold all Android phones combined at launch.

Nielsen reports that Apple's smartphone offering only missed equaling the Android share by 2.4%, the closest quarterly result since Android overtook the iOS smartphone in sales last year. The closeness of the result has had various bloggers and tech pundits posit that Apple is catching up to its rival, although that's not possible until the iPhone again sells more than the Android powered smartphones and so far that hasn't happened.

The Week in Android News for 22 January 2012

Steve Wozniak likes what you can do with Android

This week has not had the same flurry of announcements that there were during CES, instead the news has been more varied and there has been an increase in the Android/iOS tensions.  I expect more rumours to begin circulating in the coming month as we lead into MWC at the end of February

If you're keen to see what's been happening in the world of Android for the last week then keep reading after the jump.

Review: SGP Ultra Capsule for Samsung Galaxy Nexus

So you checked out my review on the Incipio Silicrylic and thought it was a little too large for your needs? Not to worry! The SGP Ultra Capsule should float your boat. SGP makes some of my favorite screenshields, which I use exclusively on my phones, tablets and even my MacBook Pro! They've since ventured into the case manufacturing market and the Ultra Capsule series is one of their slim and sleek designs.

Made of TPU, a soft and flexible plastic, the Ultra Capsule shows off its look using a shiny, glossy coating with subtle glitter on the surface. The ports and cutouts are superb, even going as far as to mimic the look of the device by adding the phone's slot to remove the back cover. Although you won't get much protection out of this one, it is a stylish alternative to some of the bulkier cases on the market and at $16.99 it's priced competitively. 

Below you'll find the full video review;

Samsung actions hint at aggressive stance against Apple

Samsung's actions are clear hints that
it's no longer content to remain on the
defensive in the mobile patent wars

In what looks like a more agressive stance by Samsung in response the increasingly litigious behaviour of Apple, Samsung is reportedly demanding details of a confidential supply arrangement between Apple and its baseband chip supplier Qualcomm.

A cross-licensing agreement between Qualcomm and Samsung is at issue, with a request from Samsung to the US District Court in California in which it has asked for “all agreements pursuant to which Qualcomm supplies or supplied ‘Qualcomm MDM6610’ chipsets to any person of entity and all documents that evidence, reflect or refer to the use by Apple of Qualcomm chipsets in iPhones or iPads”.

In other words, Samsung wants the information to finally establish if Apple is a direct customer of Qualcomm, or if it makes its purchases through a third party, critical to claims by the Korean phone maker that Apple infringes its intellectual property.

A new year, a new Apple law suit or two...

Apple succeeded in having the Galaxy Tab 10.1 banned

Unwilling to give up on its campaign to have Samsung's devices banned from Germany, and the EU zone, Apple has filed new suits in the Dusseldorf Regional Court, the very same jurisdiction that recently rejected the iDevice maker's injunction against the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1N.

Evidently working on the principle that if at first you don't succeed, try, try again, Apple has targeted ten Samsung smartphones in its latest filing, including the Galaxy SII and Galaxy S Plus, thus widening its 'marketing by litigation' programme significantly. It's worth pointing out that by the time the suit plays out, the Samsung models will likely have been superceded and there is little chance that Apple can have a successful ban applied. However, that suggests that this time around, Apple's goal will be to get penalties awarded, something that could be costly to Samsung if the suit were successful.

Review: Incipio Silicrylic for Samsung Galaxy Nexus

The pursuit of the perfect case continues for my Galaxy Nexus and I as today we take a look at the Silicrylic case from Incipio. I've long been a fan of the Silicrylic case, having used it on previous devices. The case design is largely unchanged from the products I used in the past, simply adjusted to accomodate the specifications of the Galaxy Nexus.

A two-piece, hybrid style case, the Silicrylic looks to offer a good level of protection whilst maintaining a thin profile on your device. The hard polycarbonate plastic spine feels flimsy, but once combined with the silicone interior, forms a solid, brick-like feel. Available in 4 models, the case is quite stylish with the contrasting color patterns - most importantly, the plastic is soft touch, which repels fingerprints and adds a slight grip. 

Below you'll find the full video review of the case;

Apple co-founder Woz thinks Android is better...

Steve Wozniak, Apple co-founder, admits to being a big fan of Android phones. While confirming that the iPhone is understandably his main device, Woz professed his disappointment that it doesn't do all the things his Android handset can, offering examples of the little green robot's superior GPS integration, and its superior voice command abilities.

In light of the overheated media-generated hype that accompanied the incorporation of Apple's Siri voice tech in its latest iPhone iteration, you'd be forgiven for believing that it's head and shoulders above Android's offering. No so, claims Woz. Confirming that he was a long time user and admirer when the application was still independent of Apple, he believes that since the company bought Siri and folded it into the iPhone 4S, it doesn’t work as well. One can only imagine how that must pain the Apple co-founder to admit.

No 3G for Transformer Prime?

Focus Taiwan (whoever they may be) are reporting that Asus has confirmed the TF201 will not be released in a 3G data capable version after all. 

Apparently in contradiction of a previous claim by Asus, there will be no 3G release in march after all, with the Transformer Prime maker seeing little need to produce an item that there is virtually no demand for. Actually, they're not wrong, as the proportion of non-3G to 3G equipped runs at around 70:30 and the trend is for the 3G equipped versions to sell even fewer in the future.

That's not to say they wouldn't rather make the extra margin that a cellular data enabled device would allow, as evidenced by the TF700 which supposedly will launch with 3G, but it stands to reason that unless the demand for 3G miraculously reverses, building a poor selling model makes little economic sense. Being a WiFi-only device clearly separates the TF201 from its posher sibling in yet another way, justifying a premium for the higher spec unit and justifying a lower price for the current Prime model due to a larger potential market.

However, they haven't ruled out a 4G TF201 version, so we could probably start a rumour that the cellular data model will instead be so equipped, and see how far that goes.

Meantime, if you were holding off buying an Asus Transformer Prime until the 3G model is announced, we hope you're not holding your breath.

Source: Focus Taiwan (apparently)

The Week in Android News for 15 January 2012

Yup it's that time again!

It has been a pretty busy week in the world of technology with CES running from 10-13 January in Las Vegas, Nevada. Unfortunately we weren't able to attend, but we were keeping a close eye on all of the announcements. There were a raft of new gadgets seeing the light of day; Many of these were Android or Android related and (nearly) all of them were impressive. 

If you're keen to see what's been happening in the world of Android for the last week then keep reading after the jump.

Apple fails to obtain injunction against Motorola in the US

Image: Todaysiphone

Claims by Apple that Motorola's Droid line of Android powered smartphones infringe its patents were rejected by US regulatory body, the International Trade Commission in the last 24 hours. The results are another blow to Apple's "marketing by litigation" approach to marketplace competition. Had the decision gone Apple's way, there's little doubt that the iPhone maker would have pressed for a total ban on sales of the supposedly infringing Droid handsets in the 'States, a catastrophic result for Motorola. Fortunately though, the ITC concluded that Apple's claims were bogus and the Droids live on in the US of A.

Google Search update brings new UI, prematurely-posted features from last year

It's new! It's from Google!

Google Search is an integral part of Android smartphones. Indeed, it's Google's core product. For many devices, it's only a single dedicated button-press away. So it's a little odd that we've not seen a substantial update to so core an application for quite some time - until today, that is.

Our favourite search company have released a new version of its core app to market for Froyo (2.2.x) and above - Read their official report here, and download the app from the market here. Click on past the break for our report, and an interesting link back to August of last year..

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 arrives at AndroidNZ!

Hi all!

Hot on the heels of the ASUS Transformer Prime, we've also got our hands on the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.7 here at AndroidNZ.

We'll have plenty of content in relation to the 7.7 coming over the next few weeks, and as always we're interested in what you guys actually want to know about the device. Drop us a line in comments if you've got burning questions that need answering.

If the full-sized Prime is more your speed, don't despair! There is still lots more Prime content coming to AndroidNZ for it - including a full review by editor Andy Carruthers.

...and of course as per usual if you want our latest up-to-the-minute thoughts and experiences with the new devices follow us on Twitter @Android_NZ @NZtechfreak @Kre8vDuece



(basically if it's a new Android tablet at the moment we're all over it, for some reason there is a surplus of these right now and a lull in the phone release schedule)

ASUS Transformer Prime: ICS video walkthrough and important information regards Root

Quick post just to alert you to our video demo of ICS running on the Prime, catch the video below.

Also an important piece of news for fellow owners - if you want Root on ICS then you need to follow these simple steps:

1. Root your Prime before the update using viperMod from XDA, every thing you need to know is here (this is the easiest Root method I've ever used so I won't produce a full guide)
2. Install OTA Rootkeeper from the Market, it's a free app by awesome dev Supercurio
3. Run through Rootkeepers set up
4. Install the ICS update
5. Restore Root with Rootkeeper
6. Show your gratitude to Supercurio by making a donation to keep him caffienated

Lenovo IdeaTab S2: ASUS Transformer form factor, 20 hour battery life

Sexy!

CES 2012 is on right now in the US of A, and the first piece of news that has caught my eye is the announcement of Lenovo's IdeaTab S2. As The Verge describes it, the IdeaTab is "a 10.1-inch, dual-core Android 4.0 tablet with keyboard dock attachment." While Lenovo is a relative unknown here in New Zealand, this caught my eye - Read on for the breakdown.

Samsung's Mobile Products Fuel Record-Setting Earnings...

Helping fuel Samsung's current
mobile domination!

Samsung, Asia's most valuable technology company and the world's biggest technology firm by revenue, has hit an all-time high in earnings based on the success of its smartphone business.

Shipments are expected to reach a record 35 million in Q4, 22% better than the previous three months when it powered past Apple as the top smartphone maker on the planet. Yet despite this record setting exploit, during 2012 Samsung will likely ship 170 million smartphones, up from 95 million in 2011.

A truly spectacular achievement by a company which only began making smartphones in 2010, and a performance that dwarfs even Apple's much-lauded smartphone accomplishment.

Samsung's new Galaxy Note phablet has had a very successful launch in Europe and Asia during the holiday season which raises expectations for the upcoming US launch. A success in the world's second largest smartphone market (China has overtaken the US) will extend Samsung's lead over all its rivals in the mobile field, none of the competition having an equivalent device and Apple unlikely to follow its Korean rival into the phablet space.

As Kim Yun-sang, fund manager at IBK Asset Management notes... "As expectations for Apple to continue its innovation trail [are] receding a bit, this will be the year when Samsung solidifies its commanding lead in the smartphone market".*

So far though, Samsung's entry into the emerging tablet market has been tempered by ongoing patent battles with arch-nemesis Apple, the iPad maker attempting to have sales of Samsung's tablets banned in various major markets across the globe.

However, Apple has only succeeded in slowing Samsung's process thus far. It's widely expected that new Samsung models will circumvent future patent suit attempts by its Cupertino based foe and Apple will be forced to switch tactics to attacks on the Android OS instead.

*Caveat - IBK Asset Management owns Samsung stock. It's not known if they own any Apple stock.

Source: Reuters

Spectacular Android Mobile Device Growth Continues…

For the whole of 2011, Android nearly doubled its global share of the smartphone market versus 2010, according to Canaccord Genuity, with the Little Green Robot taking 43% compared to 22.6% previously. That compares extremely well with Apple's iOS, Android's main competitor. The Cupertino-based iPhone maker's unit sales performance showed only a weak two percentage point increase over the previous 12 month period.

The Week in Android News for 8 January 2012

Image courtesy of androiduknewsetc.com

Welcome to the new year , I hope you, as one of our loyal and faithful readers had a great break. Here at AndroidNZ we are getting back into the swing of things and you should expect to see a ton of quality content from here on out.

This week has not been quiet on the tech front and it's not surprising with CES sneaking up on us. From 10-13 January next week a multitude of the latest and greatest consumer electronic devices will be announced. Personally I'm holding out for Samsung to reveal the Galaxy SIII and quash some of the rumours that have been floating around (3D anyone?).

If you're keen to know what's been going on in the week leading up to CES then catch us after the jump for news, reviews and how to's for the week ending 8 January, 2012

[Breaking News] Are you a user who can't buy paid apps in the Android Market in your country? Or perhaps a dev who can't sell your product? Superhero Supercurio might just be here to save you.

When he's not saving Galaxy S, S II, and Galaxy
Note users from what ails them, rock star dev
Supercurio is busy thinking up ways he can
save all  Android users  and developers... 

Amongst the many things I have to be happy for, living in New Zealand rates pretty highly. Apart from beautiful scenery and all that other stuff the tourism advertisers will push onto you, New Zealand also happens to be one of only 32 countries where Android users can actually purchase paid apps in the Android Market (and one of a mere 29 where developers have the option to sell their apps in the Market).

For the most part up to now I've been terribly unaware of exactly what this means to users outside the few locations with unfettered access to buying and selling apps in the Android Market. But then I had an eye opening experience the other night that really revealed what a big issue this is.

You see, I was at a local GTUG meeting that was attended by nearly 50 Android developers, and also a Google Developer Relations staffer on that evening. One of the attendees hailed from the Philippines and mentioned that there are a massive number of developers who want into Android, but can't monetise their enterprise because of where they live. The Google staffer responded to say that each country has their own regulations, ratings schemes, carrier obligations and so on and so forth that Google has to negotiate a way through in order to get paid apps in the Android Market for that country. Fair enough, right? But who loses while that is happening? EVERYONE. End-users lose, developers lose, and the Android platform and Google lose. 

So, what does that have to do with Supercurio, AKA François Simond?

[UPDATE] Dice Player ad-supported version now live on the Market!

We've run a couple of pieces talking about the difficulties that Android developer Inisoft has faced in the last month or so since Google pulled their Google Checkout account, including a wee update regarding Inisoft's plans for tackling their problems a couple of days ago.

Since I made that post Inisoft have actioned one part of their new distribution plan for full versions of Dice Player, and readers who have been unable to get a full version of Dice Player up till now will no doubt be relieved to know that a full ad-supported version of Dice Player is now available in the Android Market.

To get your hands on it hit up the link here, or point your Android devices barcode scanner at this:

ASUS Transformer Prime: Connectivity video demo

So. Another device, another connectivity demo. 

I can't help myself. 

I just love really utilising the full potential of my mobile devices, be they phone or tablet, and I'm always surprised to see just how many users of these devices are unaware of lots of the really cool stuff you can do with them. 

Anyways, it's pretty obvious what the video here is all about, so enough preamble - jump in and check it out! 

Oh, and be sure to use the really useful navigation links in the description beneath the video if you only want to check out certain bits!

Catch you soon with some more Transformer Prime content.

[At Your Own Risk] How to restore your Samsung Galaxy S2 back to stock

Everyone needs a get out of jail card and if you find yourself in deep doo-doo with your phone and have no luck fixing some weird and unwanted bug you'll probably be muttering some expletives under your breath about having no choice but returning your phone for a warranty repair.

Eeek, but you've rooted it and flashed eleventy hundred roms on it and it's no longer stock.

All is not lost.

Breathe.

Take another calming breath, and then make the jump and follow our guide to make your Galaxy S II warranty-worthy again.

ASUS Transformer Prime: Video playback shootout (and bonus update on the evolving Inisoft saga!)

So does the Tegra 3 have your back for video playback,
or do we have another failed generation of Android
tablet video playback to look forward to?

...a new day, a new Transformer Prime video. Sounds fair right?

This time we're bringing you our standard video playback test, running our wide gamut of test files at the Transformer Prime. While you'll see many other reviews saying "yeah this played everything we threw at it", the truth is many of them have a pretty narrow spectrum of test files to try out. We've tried to gather a range that encompasses a wide variety of resolutions, bitrates, subtitle types, and video and audio encoding formats - our hope is that if there is an archilles heel in the video playback capability of a device we'll be able to uncover it.

This shapes up to be a pretty big test for the Transformer Prime, since the video playback deficiencies of the Tegra 2 based Android tablets (AKA virtually all of them) are quite well known. If that sentence has you scratching your head, here's a precis: Tegra 2 devices can't play high profile video files, support a small range of codecs natively, and can't play 1080p files smoothly. The result? Video transcoding hell, where you have to convert all your space-preserving MKVs into something the Tegra 2 can get on with.

So the big question on my mind is can the Tegra chipset handle video properly this time around? The spec sheet suggests yes, since high profile video is clearly mentioned...             ...but then up until today the spec sheet also said the Prime has GPS, so I guess we'll just have to see now won't we?

[Announcement] New Navigation Menu

Greetings to all of our faithful readers.

If you've been keeping an eye on our site you may have noticed that we have a new navigation menu at the top of the page. While previously our only focus has been on creating great content (which we have definitely succeeded at) we acknowledge that it can sometimes be difficult to find that content.

The new menu  is only available for the desktop version of the site and we hope that it keeps you looking through our articles for longer.

You can now find content in the following new categories which closely match our tagline:

• News
• Reviews
• How To's
• Editorials
• Videos 

We plan on tweaking and adding to these categories as we develop more content. If you find that certain articles are missing or have incorrect labels feel free to drop us a line in the comments or on Twitter.

Fire Kindles blazing holiday sales

While Amazon famously refuses to provide specific sales numbers for its Kindle range of readers and tablets, it has confirmed that it sold "well over" a million units a week for the whole four week period leading up to Christmas.

Research analyst company Morgan Keegan has predicted around 5 million Kindle Fires were sold which, if correct, would easily make it the largest-selling Android tablet so far. The secret to its success is its price, selling in the 'States for $200 which handily undercuts all other tablets including Apple's iPad and even RIM's heavily discounted PlayBook.

Android's share of the tablet market, initially lackluster, has begun to accelerate with a number of brands and models gaining traction, but ominously for competitors, the Kindle Fire has demonstrated that a good price point will be attractive to the buying public. So much so, in fact, that the market dominant iPad has likely suffered a significant drop in its own market share. Morgan Keegan are expecting the iPad's sales to have been affected by as many as 2 million units by the Fire alone, with their estimate for the December quarter down from 16 million units to 13 million.

The iPad sold 11.2 million units in the previous quarter, which suggests a growth in the December quarter of nearly 2 million, but this rate of growth is significantly slower than previously and notably weak in what has always been Apple's best quarter for all its products. On the other hand, the Android tablet share has been demonstrating an increased growth rate even prior to the Fire's launch. So the figures for the tablet wars are likely to show the iPad as having suffered a dramatic loss of market share when all the Q4 research is reported.

Source: Morgan Keegan

ASUS Transformer Prime: Unboxing, hardware tour, brief UI demo

Hi everyone and welcome to 2012!

Obviously at this juncture I'm more or less obliged to make the same clichéd promises you're seeing every where else about being back bigger and better than ever in 2012, so take that as read.

Now that we've dispensed with those formalities, here is our first piece for the new year - another cliché - the ubiquitous unboxing video. This time around the block we're breaking open the ASUS Transformer Prime, Android's latest hot new tablet (arguably Android's first hot tablet, if we're being honest).

Rest assured we'll have much more content pushing out to you over the next few days, and hopefully bring you something a little less formulaic to pique your interest. For now though, whet your appetite with like the fifteenth unboxing you've watched in the last week or so: