China sees rare drop in smartphone shipments as its market matures
We tend to see China as a hotbed of smartphone growth, but we’re going to have to rethink that belief in light of new figures from IDC. The analyst firm estimates that smartphone shipments to the country dropped from 94.8 million in the third quarter of last year to 90.8 million in the fourth — the first time demand has fallen since mid-2011. Researchers blame the dip on a mix of factors, including the last-minute launch of China Mobile’s LTE network (in mid-December), lower device subsidies and customers who opted for tablets instead. However, the analysts primarily believe that the market has matured; phone makers have mostly courted first-time buyers for the past few years, but they now have to justify more upgrades among existing users. IDC is still optimistic that the Chinese market will grow rapidly in 2014, but it’s evident that companies can no longer take that relentless pace for granted.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile
Via: Reuters
Source: IDC China (Translated)
Open source OS Tizen gains 15 more allies; Sprint rejoins the list
In the world of mobile platforms, Tizen’s but a new entry that’s been through some tough times since its inception. The circle of 36 companies (aptly called the Tizen Association) backing up the open source OS is putting up a good fight, though — it even just welcomed 15 new members to its number. These include some big names you might recognize, such as Chinese search engine Baidu, Japanese carrier Softbank, hardware manufacturer ZTE and weather app AccuWeather. The most intriguing addition to the list, however, is Sprint, which first joined the association in 2012 before leaving it in 2013… only to join up yet again. We’ll find out later if these companies are in any way connected to the Tizen devices to be previewed at Mobile World Congress — and if they help the OS finally become a legit Android competitor.
Filed under: Cellphones, Tablets, Mobile, Samsung
Source: Tizen Association
Square Cash makes bill collecting from your friends less of a hassle
Getting your friends to pay you back for dinner just got a lot easier. Square Cash, the company’s super-simple service that lets you pay friends by sending an email, added the ability to request money Thursday. Now you can ask to get paid back by sending an email to your buddy (or reply all to a group of friends) with the amount you need in the subject line and copying request@square.com on the message. When your friends receive the request and tie a debit card to their email, a reply that copies cash@square.com will pay you immediately. If you’re waiting for a group to pay you back you can also track the status of your requested payments, so you know which of your deadbeat friends needs another shake down. Those still waiting to get reimbursed for last weekend’s night out can start their own collection service now using an email address, or Square’s Android or iOS app.
Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless
Skype: Our mobile experience could be better
Skype is a very inconsistent experience, especially when compared to it’s iOS counterpart. It seems, however, that Skype are fully aware of this. They just took to their blog to reassure loyal Android users that they are working hard to improve the service.
We know that as users have started using Skype on multiple devices, they’ve had difficulty keeping conversations in sync, or they’ve missed messages and seen “read” messages on one device that are still marked as “unread” on another. We’ve been working hard to solve these issues while adding other experiences to make an improved Skype chat.
Of most importance is the sync feature of the Skype application, which keeps the chat messages and notifications in sync with the server, and it’s this which is somewhat unreliable on Android. With Skype promising to fix this issue, it will make the experience on Android substantially better.
Skype also mentions that they are working on an update to improve battery usage, and startup/resume times also. It seems the Skype team have been a busy bunch lately. Stick around on AndroidGuys for when this update gets pushed out, plus any additional features that may find their way into it.
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Dropbox hires Motorola CEO Dennis Woodside
In an announcement which is sure to send a firm message to Dropbox competitors that it means business, Motorola CEO Dennis Woodside is set to be announced as their latest employee and first chief operating officer.
While the report suggests that Woodside focus on expanding services into businesses and schools, Dropbox will undoubtedly look to leverage the former Motorola CEOs vast knowledge and experience. It doesn’t hurt that he has been at Google since 2003.
Woodside became CEO of Motorola Mobility when Google acquired the mobile company in 2011. However, given Motorola has just been sold to Lenovo for $3 billion, Woodside’s role is naturally coming to an end.
The acquisition of Woodside’s service is huge for Dropbox and their need to reinvigorate their growth plans, especially with growing competition from the likes of Box, and even Google’s own Drive storage service. Perhaps this may spark rumours of the production of a Dropbox mobile device? It wouldn’t be the worst idea in the world…
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Taco Bell sees future of fast food with new mobile app
Customers will soon be able to order from their smartphone
Taco Bell is about to change the way you order your fast food. The nationwide chain is currently beta testing a new mobile app experience which lets users place orders and pay for them before stepping foot inside of a restaurant.
It’s a pretty sweet setup, really, and can even tie into your location. Using the GPS from your device it will signal the Taco Bell to start your meal prior to your arrival. Rather than starting immediately, this would ensure you show up and receive hot, delicious tacos. What’s more, you can add and drop things from your items just as if you were in person. Don’t want refried beans? Want to add avocado ranch sauce? Whatever, it’s your meal.
With the popularity of millennials and smart phones, we saw this coming, and decided to build the ground work a couple of years ago for mobile…Mobile is going to be the biggest sort of innovator, shake-up in the quick service industry since the drive-thru.
As of now only five Orange County (California) locations are testing out the mobile app. It’s not clear if this is exlcusive to any particular mobile OS; we would hope for both Android and iOS.
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BBM 2.0 is on its way to Android
Due to a few trip ups in launching BBM for Android, many users ditched it early on. And lately it seems as though Blackberry is working to do something about that. Blackberry Messenger 2.0 for Android is (almost) here!
BBM has been updating like crazy in the past few weeks, making some decent improvements. Today rolls out a big update, bringing some much needed features to the app. Here’s a list of the new features that the update brings.
- BBM Voice: Android and iOS users can now make free voice calls to BBM contacts over a WiFi or data connection
- One-Click Sharing: One-click sharing of photos, documents, voice notes and more
- BBM Channels: Talk with other BBM users about basically anything, in the allotted categories
- DropBox Integration: Send larger files through direct Dropbox integration
- New Emoticons: There are 100 new emoticons!
- Location Sharing: Powered by Glympse, users can share their location with other users for a specified amount of time
The update should begin to roll out sometime today. There’s no telling when, but it will be here!
Source: Blackberry
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Skype’s new tweaks will sync all your devices and notify you quicker
One of the downsides of owning a smartphone, tablet and a computer, is that you can miss important messages if they only land on one of that trio. That’s the thinking behind the latest Skype update, which will now sync your chats across all of your devices. The tweaks also bring push notifications, alerting you to new messages and, perhaps best of all, delivery receipts, so you’ll always know exactly when your missives have been read — or ignored.
Filed under: Software, Mobile, Microsoft
Source: Skype
BBM Channels and Voice come to Android and iPhone
BBM is about to become considerably more useful to Android and iPhone users — even if they don’t have many people on their contact lists. BlackBerry now says that its promised Channels and Voice support should reach the BBM apps for both platforms later today. As on BlackBerry 10, Channels lets you chat about hot topics with fellow users, whether or not they’re already friends. Voice, meanwhile, does exactly what it says on the tin: you can make internet-based calls to your BBM buddies. Whether or not you find much use from these two biggest features, you may still appreciate other significant additions like Dropbox file sharing integration, Glympse location sharing and expanded BBM Groups. We’ll let you know when we see the Android and iOS upgrades reach their respective app stores.
Filed under: Cellphones, Mobile, Blackberry
Source: BlackBerry, App Store, Google Play
Apple Winding Down iPad 2 Production After Three-Year Run
Apple is winding down production of the iPad 2 as customer interest in the legacy device dwindles, according to a report from AppleInsider. First introduced in early 2011, the iPad 2 has remained in Apple’s product lineup as a lower-price option even as newer iPad models have been discontinued.
According to people familiar with Apple’s plans, the company has made the decision to ramp down iPad 2 production given that customers are resoundingly shifting purchases towards its more modern and capable iPads, namely the iPad mini and iPad Air.
Apple continues to sell 16 GB iPad 2 models priced at $399 for Wi-Fi only and $529 for Wi-Fi + Cellular for the time being, coming in $100 lower than corresponding iPad Air models. There is no word yet, however, on just when Apple plans to stop selling the iPad 2 as its stocks wind down.
The iPad 2 remained popular even up until the launch of the iPad Air, with educational institutions and other specialized markets preferring the device for a combination of its lower price and its compatibility with numerous accessories through the legacy 30-pin dock connector. But with the introduction of the dramatically thinner iPad Air and Retina display-equipped iPad mini late last year, sales of the iPad 2 dropped dramatically and the company has apparently decided that continued production is not worthwhile.
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