Samsung Misses Earnings Estimates as Apple and Others Pressure Mobile Sales
Samsung’s corporate earnings missed expectations and its mobile division saw flat growth year-over-year due to pressure from inexpensive rivals and Apple’s new lineup of iPhones, according to an analysis of its fourth-quarter earnings by Bloomberg.
The Korean conglomerate reported net income of 7.22 trillion won ($6.7 billion), well short of the 8.2 trillion won that analysts were expecting. Operating income at the company’s mobile unit, its biggest profit maker, was 5.47 trillion won, down from a record 6.7 trillion in the prior quarter, and roughly flat year-over-year.
The company also said it planned to cut its mobile marketing budget after heavy spending also impacted its fourth-quarter profits, reported Reuters. It will also look to make its marketing spending more efficient.
Analysts interviewed by Bloomberg blamed growth in Apple’s iPhone line, which saw the iPhone 5s and 5c launch early in the quarter. Apple is scheduled to announce its earnings on Monday.
Samsung Galaxy S4 (5-inch display) with Apple iPhone 5 (4-inch display)
“Samsung’s two major challenges for 2014 are to maintain its mobile-phone leadership in China and the U.S., while simultaneously growing its tablet business quickly enough to knock Apple iPad from its perch,” [Neil Mawston, an executive director at researcher Strategy Analytics,] said.
The company shipped 9 million units of the S4 in the fourth quarter, according to a Jan. 8 report from Daewoo Securities Co., lower than its earlier estimate of 13 million units, released on Dec. 23. In the third quarter, Samsung sold 17 million units, Daewoo said.
Apple is rumored to have sold more than fifty million iPhones in the fourth calendar quarter. Apple is not expected to update its iPhone line until next fall.
Samsung announced that it would launch a new version of its flagship Galaxy smartphone by April, alongside the second version of its Gear smart watch.
(Image courtesy Business Insider)
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Widely Acclaimed Tomb Raider Reboot Arrives in Mac App Store [Mac Blog]
Last year’s hit game Tomb Raider, which was critically praised for successfully re-imagining iconic video game character Lara Croft for modern times, is finally available on Mac. The Mac version of the action adventure game, which was ported by Feral Interactive, arrives just under a year after it first launched on PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
When a young Lara Croft is shipwrecked on an uncharted island, she enters a fight for survival armed with nothing but her instincts. Help Lara perfect her natural gifts as she embarks on a perilous journey to save her friends and escape the island’s murderous inhabitants.
Scavenge vital resources, upgrade Lara’s gear and improve her exploration, combat and survival skills to fight back against vicious enemies. Jump and climb through dense forests, treacherous mountains and WWII bunkers to discover how an ordinary young woman became Lara Croft, Tomb Raider.
The game launches exclusively on the Mac App Store today, and will arrive on other digital storefronts, like Steam, on January 30. Although Tomb Raider is primarily known for its single-player campaign, it has an online multiplayer component. That multiplayer is not available on the version purchased from the Mac App Store. Players who wish to play online multiplayer will have to purchase the game on Steam, as the game requires a Steam account to take part in its Mac-to-Mac only online play.
Players will need Mac OS X 10.9.1, 14GB of free hard drive space, 4GB RAM, a 512MB graphics card and a processor with at least a 2.0 GHz output. Intel HD 4000 graphics cards will require an Intel i7 CPU or better.
Tomb Raider is available in the Mac App Store for $49.99. [Direct Link]
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Tim Cook Speaks With ABC News About Thirtieth Anniversary of Macintosh, Interview Airs Tomorrow
ABC News will air an interview with Apple CEO Tim Cook on World News with Diane Sawyer tomorrow evening to coincide with the thirtieth anniversary of the introduction of the Macintosh (via 9to5Mac).
The interview, between ABC’s David Muir and Cook, will air tomorrow at 6:30PM Eastern, though a small portion of the interview will preview on Good Morning America.
ABC has not shared many details about the interview, but based on the image shown above, the Mac Pro will be a point of discussion. “ABC News Anchor David Muir exclusively interviews Apple CEO Tim Cook on the 30th anniversary of the Macintosh and what is next for the company,” ABC says.
In 2012, Tim Cook sat down with Brian Williams for a wide ranging interview that covered Apple’s poor mapping debut, Apple’s future in television and more. The interview is part of a larger media campaign by the company to promote the thirtieth anniversary of the Macintosh’s debut.
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Daily Roundup: Maingear Pulse 17 review, DJI’s photography-oriented drone and more!
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours — all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Google tours the Top Gear test track
Google sent one of its former street view cars out for a tour of Top Gear’s test track. Lucky for us, a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG (with a bit of attitude) joined the party at the starting line. Click on through for the video.
Uber-rare NES game lands on eBay
Back in the 1990′s, the Nintendo World Championship toured the US with 116 custom game cartridges containing special levels from Super Mario Bros., Rad Racer and Tetris. If owning a gem like that makes you flutter on the inside, now might be your chance! Click the link for details.
Maingear Pulse 17 review
Maingear’s latest gaming laptop, the Pulse 17, packs a 2.4GHz Intel Core i7, 16GB of DDR3 RAM and an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 765M GPU. But does this incredibly thin machine have enough bite to justify its $2,100 price tag? Click through for our review and find out.
DJI Phantom 2 Vision hands-on
DJI’s Phantom 2 Vision might look like your average drone, but it’s capable of more than just entertainment. Thanks to cutting edge maneuverability and camera mount features, this $1,200 copter gives prosumers a surprisingly stable birds eye view of the world streamed live to their smartphone. Follow the link for our hands-on.
Samsung profits drop slightly, but it’s still seeing increased demand for phones, tablets
Samsung has released a detailed report of its earnings for the fourth quarter, and as it predicted, its operating profit is slightly lower than last year. While 8.3 trillion won (about $7.8 billion) is nothing to sneeze at, last year Samsung notched 8.84 trillion won ($8.27 billion) in operating profit, creating concerns growth is slowing in its highly successful tablet and phone business. According to Samsung however, buyers want its phones and tablets just as much if not more than ever, however marketing costs and “year-end inventory adjustments” lowered shipments and cut into profits. According to Yonhap News, analysts believe a one-off special bonus payment to employees celebrating the 20th anniversary of its “New Management Initiative” also had an effect.
Developing…
Filed under: HD, Mobile, Samsung
Source: Samsung Q4 Earnings (PDF)
Filowz seeking funding for the Sonomad, portable Bluetooth speaker with boombox vibe
Most Bluetooth speakers today are getting smaller for more portability, but Paris-based company Filowz is planning to offer a speaker that takes its styling from the past.
Filowz is seeking $90,000 for the Sonomad through its Indiegogo campaign that has just 11 days left, ending Feb. 2. At the time of writing this, the Bluetooth speaker raised $20,527 and the company needs to raise the full amount for the project to be funded.
According to a press release, the Sonomad is “a Hi-Fi wireless portable sound system” that packs “performance and portability,” offering 20 hours of music playback on a single battery charge. While it has 70s looks, it carries modern features with the ability to connect to your smartphone, tablet, computer, MP3 player, etc., through a standard audio connector or Bluetooth and it sports a 5V USB connector to keep your smartphone charged while you listen to some tunes. Filowz put a “safe dock” on the device as well, that will securely hold any size smartphone inside, as long as it is less than 3 inches in width. This could be useful if you wanted to take the speaker to beach and keep your phone safe from the sand.
Although its not exactly the smallest device, to carry it around it features a handle and shoulder strap. The speaker weights about 2.6 pounds as well.
Besides being a nifty little device that combines new and old technology, it has a unique back story as well. Filowz said it’s funded by Grégoire, a sound engineer who has traveled and lived in Africa for 6 years, where he felt the need for an effective, convenient and reliable portable speaker.
If you’ve been looking for a speaker that offers high performance with an innovative universal dock, be sure to hit up the links below.
The post Filowz seeking funding for the Sonomad, portable Bluetooth speaker with boombox vibe appeared first on AndroidGuys.
Android 4.4 KitKat Ready for the US HTC One
HTC One users. Get ready to break yourself a piece of that KitKat bar. Android 4.4 is about ready to be sent out to all HTC One users, on all US carriers. According to HTC’s Twitter page, the Android 4.4 update is ready, but awaiting certification. It shouldn’t take too long to get that certification, so expect the update to start rolling out in the next couple weeks as promised by HTC.
Source: HTC
Spotify makes an update brings artist touring Details
One of the other major streaming music apps to grace our digital lives, Spotify, has released an update to their Android app. Adding in a new section in Artist views that will keep you up to date on touring details so you don’t miss your favorite bands performances. Not only does it give you the date and location (with a quick tap to Google Maps for directions), but you can go buy tickets.
The remainder of the update details are rather comical, not in what they are specifically, but in how Spotify delivers them. I love it.
Improved: Spotify Connect will be on its best behaviour when you play radio.
Fixed: We’ve tickled some pixels and dealt with some crashes.
Fictitious: This app was assembled from old clock parts.
Ha, tickled some pixels. The update is live in the Play Store for all who wish to pick it up. If you want to save your self a few taps, just hit the nifty Play Store image below.
FBI tells retailers to expect more credit card data theft
Don’t think that the end of holiday shopping means an end to attempts to swipe your credit card data. The FBI is warning retailers that it expects these intrusion attempts to become more of a problem in the near future, particularly through malware that grabs account info from cash registers and credit card readers. It’s not clear if these attackers have any specific stores in their crosshairs, but retail account security is undoubtedly a growing problem — Neiman Marcus recently confirmed a breach that compromised 1.1 million customer cards, and Reuters hears that other companies have been victims. Paying with cash suddenly doesn’t sound like such a bad idea.
[Image credit: Roadsidepictures, Flickr]
Filed under: Internet
Source: Reuters
Time Warner Cable customers can now stream on-demand shows from A&E Networks
Sure, Time Warner Cable already provides a way to view on-demand A&E Networks programming via its set-top boxes. But in an era where watching stuff on different types of screens is key, service providers and creators alike know how important it is for people to consume as much content as possible, regardless of where they are. Today, as part of the TV Everywhere initiative, TWC struck a deal which lets its subscribers have full on-demand access to a number of channels from A&E Networks — such as History, Lifetime and, of course, A&E. Naturally, this means being able to use the desktop site and mobile apps of each network to watch a variety of shows at any given time, including ones like Duck Dynasty, Pawn Stars, American Pickers, Swamp People and Project Runway.
We should mention that, as is often the case, Bright House Networks customers will also benefit from Time Warner Cable’s latest content agreement, though they won’t be able to use their subscription credentials until next week. A&E Networks has a number of apps across iOS and Android, so now might be a good time to download and set them up using your TWC ID — because, let’s face it, you can’t wait to binge-watch Storage Wars: Texas.
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Internet, HD
Source: Business Wire
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