Former HTC Engineers Move To Apple To Boost Asian Market Growth
Justin Diaz March 3, 2014
When you think about HTC, you usually think about things like those old PDAs that everyone just had to have, or better yet you think about things that happened more recently like last years HTC One flagship device. You might even think about the latest and greatest from HTC, The All New One, which was outed in a 12 minute video from yesterday by some teenage kid with parents who "used" to work at HTC. That is until his video went viral which clearly seemed to be violating a confidentiality agreement, with things spiraling downward from there. What you don't think about when you hear the name HTC is how they can help Apple make their next product.
According to The Wall Street Journal, some of HTC's engineers had been approached by Apple in hopes to get them hired on and start helping to give Apple's growth in the Asian markets a lift. It would seem that Apple understands that they haven't covered as much ground in the Asian markets as they'd hoped, which is why they began hiring engineers from within those Asian markets, many of which were from HTC, so they could help with things like product development and chain logistics. Apple's main goal seems to boost their strength in the Chinese market most of all, and maybe just maybe, there's a little bit of acknowledgement on Apples end that HTC has been doing great things lately with their product design. The One is a beautiful phone, so no matter how elite Apple believes it's product is compared to Android, they seem to at least understand that they are not the only ones that can make an elegant looking device.
There's no telling what HTC engineers were offered to hop on board with Apple's future iPhone endeavors, but it seems that Apple directly approached said HTC engineers to sway them so whatever it was must have been compelling enough to get them to switch teams. It will be interesting going forward to see how these former HTC employees help Apple possibly redesign something that has looked so similar for so long. There is of course no telling if that will happen, but hiring on a new set of eyes from a different company could certainly prove to do such things.
Tablets continue to grow in popularity, among consumers and business users alike
10:42AM GMT 04 Mar 2014
Android has overtaken Apple iOS to become the number one tablet operating system in terms of user numbers, according to new figures from analyst Gartner.
Android now claims 62 per cent of the market, with 121 million Android tablets sold worldwide in 2013, up from 53 million in 2012. Although sales of iOS tablets grew in the fourth quarter of 2013, iOS's share declined from 53 per cent in 2012 to 36 per cent in 2013, representing 70 million tablets sold, (up from 61 million).
The market demand was driven by the improved quality of smaller low-cost tablets from vendors such as Samsung and HTC, and white-label products continued to grow in emerging markets. Gartner analysts said emerging markets recorded growth of 145 per cent in 2013, while mature markets grew 31 percent.
"In 2013, tablets became a mainstream phenomenon, with a vast choice of Android-based tablets being within the budget of mainstream consumers while still offering adequate specifications," said Roberta Cozza, research director at Gartner.
Gartner said that Microsoft Windows' tablet volumes improved in 2013, but share remained small. Despite Microsoft now acting more rapidly to evolve Windows 8.1, it still failed to capture major consumers' interest on tablets.
"To compete, Microsoft needs to create compelling ecosystem proposition for consumers and developers across all mobile devices, as tablets and smartphones become key devices for delivering applications and services to users beyond the PC," said Cozza.
From a device vendor perspective, Apple maintained its top position in the market in 2013. Samsung, ranked second, experienced the highest growth, through expansion and improvement of its Galaxy tablet portfolio, together with strong marketing and promotions.
"Apple's tablets remain strong in the higher end of the market and, Apple's approach will continue to force vendors to compete with full ecosystem offerings, even in the smaller-screen market as the iPad mini sees a greater share."
Among the vendors that have a less than 6 percent share of the worldwide tablet market, Lenovo did particularly well in 2013 with tablet sales growing 198 percent.
"Lenovo's success is a combination of launching innovative new tablet models during the second half of 2013 and the sales of its Yoga model and Windows tablets doing particularly well," said Isabelle Durand, principal research analyst at Gartner.
"However, establishing a strong brand with consumers outside China, which is especially important in the tablet market, remains a key challenge."
Confirmed: Device that may be 2014′s best Android phone will have 2014′s worst name
Tuesday March 4, 2014
HTC is very, very good at making phones. Unfortunately, the company is not as good at selling phones and its struggles continued in February as sales declined more than 36% on-year to�$238.5 million.
HTC is also quite bad at naming things. If you cringed at names like "BoomSound" and "Zoe" when they were announced last year, you're not alone. And it looks like HTC plans to carry forward its tradition of awful names when its brand new flagship smartphone is unveiled later this month.
HTC on Monday tweeted a photograph of a sign that it put up at retailer Selfridges in the UK. The sign reads "Feel it 25.3.14″ beneath the following branding: "The All New HTC One."
Yes, that will be the name of the sequel to what may be the best all-around Android phone of all time.
Rumors emerged last month that HTC planned to call its 2014 flagship smartphone "The All New HTC One," but most people likely held onto hope that the rumors were just a misunderstanding and HTC would launch the phone with a much better name. Sadly, it looks like that will not be the case.
At least it's not called the "HTC One 2," we suppose.
According to earlier rumors, The All New HTC One will feature a 5-inch 1080p HD display, a quad-core 2.3GHz Snapdragon processor, dual rear cameras for 3D photo and video capture, a dual-LED flash, Android 4.4 KitKat and Sense 6.0.
(3D photos and videos is so old now, HTC already had that phone out a few years ago called th Evo 3G)
The new phone will be unveiled at a press conference on March 25th
You and Yours
Josh Grant is calling for more flexibility
A man whose mother bequeathed her iPad to her family in her will says Apple's security rules are too restrictive.
Josh Grant, 26, from London, told BBC Radio 4's You & Yours his mother bought the tablet during her cancer treatment.
Since her death, they have been unable to unlock the device, despite providing Apple with copies of her will, death certificate and solicitor's letter.
Apple says its security measures have led the industry in helping customers protect lost or stolen devices.
Anthea Grant bought the tablet two years ago when she had her first cancer diagnosis, using it mainly for games and for video calling to keep in touch with her sons.
In her will she indicated that her estate was to be split between her five boys, and the brothers decided the eldest son Patrick should have the iPad.
Consent
After her death, they discovered they did not know her Apple ID and password, but were asked to provide written consent for the device to be unlocked.
Mr Grant said: "We obviously couldn't get written permission because mum had died. So my brother has been back and forth with Apple, they're asking for some kind of proof that he can have the iPad.
"We've provided the death certificate, will and solicitor's letter but it wasn't enough. They've now asked for a court order to prove that mum was the owner of the iPad and the iTunes account.
"It's going to have to go through our solicitor and he charges �200 an hour so it's a bit of a false economy."
The security measures are designed to prevent unauthorised access to Apple users' online iCloud accounts, which could include personal documents, photos and messages.
Mr Grant said: "I thought we might use it as a shiny placemat. I'm a big fan of Apple, their security measures are great but we have provided so much evidence.
"At 59, my mum was fairly young, I've already lost my dad and it's a bit cold of them not to treat things on a case-by-case basis."
Apple told You & Yours it had led the industry in helping customers protect lost or stolen devices, and that Find My iPhone, launched in 2009, allowed customers to remotely set up passwords and remove personal information.
It added that a measure called Activation Lock also gave customers control of their device and acted as a theft deterrent.
'Black phones' increase likelihood of hacking 3rd Mar 2014
KPMG argues that super-secure devices will be red flag to criminals
Auditor and professional services firm KPMG has warned that the use of stealth "black phones," like the recently unveiled Boeing Black, may make people a bigger target for hackers.
Stephen Bonner, partner at the Information Protection and Business Resilience team at KPMG, argued that the fact that the so-called "black phones" will attract privacy-sensitive customers who want to hide below the radar will make these devices an appealing target.
He said that owning a device like the Boeing Black would act as a "red flag" to criminals, highlighting that there is something to hide, and thus an opportunity to obtain potentially sensitive and lucrative information.
Of course, since these devices are by default more secure they should, at least in theory, be difficult nuts to crack.
Security is the new black
KPMG's warning follows the recent announcements of the GeeksPhone Blackphone and the Boeing Black. The latter is an Android-based device designed specifically for enhanced security.
It includes embedded hardware security features, including a secure boot option, disk encryption, protected communications, and options for various modules like satellite transceivers, solar-powered chargers, and biometrics.
The move puts Boeing, known for its aircraft and defence contracts, into direct competition with the original "black phone" manufacturer, BlackBerry. The Canadian firm has etched out a living from the business and government sectors, thanks to its security-focused approach, but consumer firms like Apple and Samsung have attempted to eat into its market share.
However, Bonner said that privacy should not be limited to handsets for people who have something to hide, but should be default for all.
"The ability to keep data safe and secure without having to think about it should feature in all devices so that all calls, messages, files and browsing data is kept private. 'Black phones' could be the start of a new trend for all phones becoming more secure," he said.
He dismissed the use of such devices for the consumer market, calling some of the threats they aim to protect against unrealistic. He said that business users need to worry about the applications on their devices and the end-to-end protections they have in place.
Customers may want iPhone, but end up buying Android instead By Chris Smith
Friday March 7, 2014, 10:20 AM
A new study reveals that Apple is still the most coveted brand in emerging markets, even though not all potential customers can afford its products and end up using Android devices "because of their accessibility," Fortune reveals, pointing us to a recent Upstream survey performed on 4,505 smartphone buyers in five emerging markets including Brazil, China, India, Nigeria and Vietnam.
According to Upstream, 32% of users want an Apple smartphone�with Samsung and Nokia products following at 29% and 13%, respectively, when it comes to averages. When looking at OS only, significantly more people choose Android than iOS, with Windows Phone in third place and BlackBerry almost nonexistent.
When asked about the main reason behind a handset choice, functionality comes up as the most important factor. Between 44% and 48% of buyers, depending on market, are more interested in functionality than the actual brand of a phone, which happens to be the second most important factor when deciding on a smartphone purchase.
When it comes to actual mobile content providers in these markets, Google is king, with its Play Store reaching 40% of users, according to the study. Apple follows in second place with a 28% share. Interestingly, 26% of smartphone buyers in these regions access mobile content directly from the mobile operator's own mobile store.
The surveyed smartphone buyers identified several issues with their app store experiences, with too much advertising being one of the most important issues with them (24%). One other significant problem is navigating these app stores for downloadable content (24% of buyers complained), while 20% of respondents said there aren't personalized suggestions available to them, and 11% complained about lack of payment methods.
Fortune also mentioned data from Xerox subsidiary WDS whose study measured brand loyalty. WDS surveyed 3,000 smartphone buyers in U.S., U.K. and Australia finding that 76% of iPhone owners are staying with Apple, while only 58% of Samsung owners are willing to still choose Samsung - no other device maker has passed the 40% mark. However, Samsung is first with 34% compared to Apple's 24% when it comes to users that either switched brands or upgraded from feature phones.
A graphic showing "brand magnetism" for different handset makers and an �infographic highlighting the Upstream survey's findings follow below.
Any iPhone users on here, was going to upgrade to iPhone 5c, not sure whether to hold back and wait for iPhone 6, or just get the iPhone 5c, any suggestions?
IPhone 5c has been a flop worldwide. You can search Google for it and confirm. It's also very low spec in comparison to the 5s.
For an ardent iPhone fan, I would suggest waiting for the iPhone 6 which will be larger in size and better spec than the rest of the iPhone range (obviously)
For someone who wants some cheaper, better, faster and far more superior, then wait till March 25th and see what's on offer.
Also there are rumours that iPhone 6 won't come out this year.
This cannot be undone and I am sure it will be greatly appreciated.
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