China overtakes US as world's largest smartphone market

In BBC

Smartphone shipments to China rose to a record 24m during the period, compared with 23m for the US, according to research done by Strategy Analytics.

The consultancy said shipments to China were boosted by "a wave of low-cost Android models from local Chinese brands".

This is the first time that China has overtaken the US in smartphone market.

"China's rapid growth has been driven by an increasing availability of smartphones in the retail channels," said Tom Kang, of Strategy Analytics.

The company said that while shipments to China grew by 58% sequentially during the period, those to the US fell by 7%.

'Mobile computing boom'

China is the world's biggest market for mobile phones with almost 952m users, and continues to grow at a fast pace.

At the same time, there has been a push by mobile phone operators to get more users to sign up for 3G services.

Analysts said that as consumers take up these services, the demand for gadgets such as smartphones is likely to rise further.

"China is now at the forefront of the worldwide mobile computing boom," said Neil Mawston, Executive Director of Strategy Analytics.

"China has become a large and growing smartphone market that no hardware vendor, component maker or content developer can afford to ignore," he added.

iPhone 5 launch date: Battle of the Best Buy leaks

In Cnet

Depending on which of today's Best Buy-relatediPhone 5 reports you want to give the most credence to, the highly anticipated gadget could launch during the first week of October, or a bit later, on October 21st.

Boy Genius Report's Jonathan Geller says a tipster handed the blog a leaked Best Buy document labeled "Promotional activity" and carrying a subheading of "Week 9/4."

The document, real or otherwise, says, "iPhone 5 product introduction expected, pre-sales begin for expected week 1 launch / Sprint launchesiPhone 5." It also says "(Apple product information/Launch dates subject to change)."

On the other hand, This Is My Next's Chris Ziegler reports that TIMN received a tip about a mysterious "Apple fixture" that's scheduled to be installed at an unnamed Best Buy location October 21. The site displays a screenshot that shows what may or may not be an authentic online Best Buy "National Retail Calendar."

"Process Display or Granger will be installing an Apple fixture on the large C2 end displays. Please ensure a manager/key carrier is available at 6:00 am for access to the store," the retail calendar says, in a rather cloak-and-dagger fashion. This Is My Next says its tipster called the 6 am show-up time unusual--managers usually don't have to arrive till an hour later. The tipster also reported an October 10 meeting to "discuss BIG release dates."

As Ziegler points out, The Wall Street Journal has reported that Sprint Nextel will begin selling the iPhone 5 in mid-October. Other reports, though, have set the date as earlier in the month.

And, of course, my colleagues Declan McCullagh and Greg Sandoval recently broke the news that another unreleased iPhone prototype had apparently recharged itself a little two energetically while at a bar and had gone missing. (You'll recall, I'm sure, that it's not the first time such a thing has happened.) McCullagh and Sandoval also note that the file name of a San Francisco Police Department document seems to peg the prototype as the iPhone 5 and that Apple is taking unusual steps to get the gadget back.

All of this might mean the launch of a Sprint-friendly iPhone 5 is nigh. But we'll just have to wait a still-uncertain amount of time to find out.

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-20101545-37/iphone-5-launch-date-battle-of-the-best-buy-leaks/#ixzz1X1OQ5Ezl

WebOS Smartphone - what to do?

In Cnet
Hewlett-Packard has turned out the lights on its WebOS smartphones and new tablet, the TouchPad, so what should you do if you've already got one of these products?

Todd Bradley announces that WebOS will be designed to run on desktop and laptop PCs.
(Credit: James Martin/CNET)

That's a good question. Here are a few (somewhat humorous) suggestions from CNET:
- Put them on the shelf with your Microsoft Kin (The Kin lasted 48 days on the market before being canceled; the HP TouchPad lasted 49.)
- Use your pebble-shapedPalm Pre as a stone in your Zen garden.
- Turn your Palm Pixi into a table-leveler. You can put it underneath wobbly tables instead of sugar packets.
- Throw it in your junk drawer with your Palm Pilot and Palm Treo.
- Put your TouchPad under your pillow and hope thetablet fairy brings you aniPad 2

But seriously, this is a sad event for many loyal Palm fans. Hewlett-Packard yesterday announced that it is discontinuing the sale of devices running WebOS, the operating system that the computer maker acquired from Palm last year. The news means that HP will stop selling the recently launched TouchPad tablet as well as WebOS-based smartphones, such as the Palm Pre 2, HP Veer, and the upcoming Palm Pre 3.

The Palm Pre was the first device to debut with the WebOS software, and it caused quite a stir when it was introduced at the Consumer Electronics Show in 2009. The software won praise from experts, such as CNET Reviews senior editor Bonnie Cha, who said in her original review that the it offered "unparalleled" multitasking and notifications capabilities. She also noted that it had a sharp multitouch display and excellent Web browser and multimedia integration.

Unfortunately for Palm and the company's loyal following, the Pre and the WebOS devices that followed never made much of splash in the market. The Palm Pixi, Palm PrePlus, Palm Pixi Plus, Palm Pre 2, HP Veer, Palm Pre 3, and the HP TouchPad have collectively garnered a relatively small following.

Still, Palm fans have been a loyal bunch, many of them are former Treo fans. While the audience for the products has been tiny compared to their competitors, there are still some consumers with older or even recently purchased WebOS devices. So what are these consumers to do?

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-30686_3-20094835-266/what-should-webos-smartphone-and-tablet-owners-do-now/#ixzz1VbjtXuRi

Low cost Smartphones - the Smartphone Boom

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Dual SIM Android 2.2 3.5'' Capacitive Touchscreen Smartphone Support WiFi + GPS for 160.49 USD or 112,42 EUR

A dream....No! See it here

Specifications:
•Function: 3.5 Inch Touchscreen Android 2.2 Smartphone
•This phone belongs to the capacitive touchscreen, with glass panels, with much thinner, better pervious to light quality, providing more sensitive touch and fluent operating.
•Operation System: Android 2.2 OS
•Network: GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz
•CPU & Memory:
- MTK 6516, 460MHz
- ROM: 512 MB
- RAM: 256 MB
•Display Screen:
- Screen Size: 3.5 inch
- Resolution: HVGA, 480 x 320 Pixel
- The screen belongs to Capacitive screen
•Dual SIM Card Dual Standby
•Support GPS
•Support WIFI, Java
•Support gravity acceleration sensor
•Support FM radio, MP3, MP4, E-book reader
•Support word, excel, ppt, pdf format document
•Support wireless stereo headphone for hands-free answering and wireless transmission
•Support Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, Gmail, Yahoo, eBuddy, Weather, Wiki Mobile, Google Talk, ect.
•Camera:
- Front-facing camera resolution: 0.3 MP
-Back-facing camera resolution: 2 MP
•Messaging: SMS / MMS
•Storage:
- Support extend card up to 16GB
- Packed with memory card: N/A
•Interfaces:
- 1 x USB Cable / Charger
- 1 x Earphone
•Support Format:
- Ringtones Type: Polyphonic
- Video File Format: MP4,AVI,FlV
- Image File Format:JPG, PNG, BMP, GIF

•Support touch screen / handwrite / keyboard input
•Languages:Indonesia, Malay, German, English, Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, Vietnamese, Turkish, Russian, Thai, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese
•Multimedia menu includes: File Manager, Photos, Camera, Image Viewer, Video Recorder, Video Player, Audio Player, Sound Recorder
•Organizer menu includes: Calendar, To Do, Alarm, World Clock, Currency Converter, E-book, Reader, Latitude, Maps
•Data Transfer & Connectivity:
- Data Transfer: USB / wireless transmission
- GPRS: Yes
- Mobile internet: WAP
•Battery: Lithium Batteries
•Battery standard voltage: 3.7V
•Charge voltage: 4.2V
•Battery standard capacity: 1600mAh
•Battery Life:
- Talk Time : Up to 4 hours
- Stand By : Up to 150 hours
•Color: black
•Dimension(L x W x D): 112 x 60 x 13 mm
•Approved: CE / FCC
•After sales service: 1 year warranty

Accessories:
•1 x Earphone
•1 x Data Cable
•1 x Battery Charger
•1 x User Manual
•2 x Standard Batteries