Wednesday, August 8, 2012

iOS And ANDROID

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iOS and Android claimed 85% of smartphones in Q2

Ajit Magdum, Aug 8, 2012

Research firm IDC today posted the findings of its smartphone market survey for the second quarter of 2012. Apple and Google continue to dominate the smartphone space, with iOS and Android devices accounting for an astounding 85 percent of all smartphones shipped during the quarter. In other words, more than eight out of ten smartphones in Q2 2012 were either iPhones or Android devices.

The Android freight train just keeps chugging along, posting a remarkable 106.5 percent year-over-year growth versus a 27.5 percent unit growth for the iPhone. Though Android is still winning in terms of sheer number of units, Apple leads the space in profitability.

According to Raymond James, Apple captured about 43 percent of the industry’s revenue in Q2 2012 and 77 percent of operating profits…

As for BlackBerry and Symbian, each has fallen below an IDC-estimated five percent share.

Per IDC, “Android continues to fire on all cylinders”, thanks to a variety of different devices avaiable and attractive price points.

At post time, Android Ice Cream sandwich was on nearly sixteen percent of Android devices in the wild, a result of new phone releases that run Ice Cream Sandwich.

Of course, Android owes its success to Samsung and IDC notes as much:

Android’s success in the market can be traced directly to Samsung, which accounted for 44.0% of all Android smartphones shipped in 2Q12 and totaled more than the next seven Android vendors’ volumes combined.

Also not to be overlooked was the growing relevance of Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich with the release of numerous models worldwide.

Here’s your table.

As for Apple, IDC says that swirling rumors about the next iPhone and cooling demand for the nine-month-old iPhone 4S both contributed to Apple’s slower growth compared to Google:

iOS posted double-digit growth, but not enough to keep up with the overall market. Despite these trends, iOS remained the solid number two operating system behind Android worldwide, and greater than the total number of smartphones on the remaining platforms.

If Asymco analyst Horace Dediu is right, then Apple will sell a whopping 263 million iPhone units over the course of next twelve months. Dediu simply used Apple marketing chief Phil Schiller’s statement given last week to the court, under oath:

Each new generation sold approximately equal to all previous generations combined.

Taking this data point and historical data, he was able to derive the aforementioned figure.

Taking that forecast forward and assuming a 60 percent growth rate, I currently have abut 200 million iPhones over the next twelve months. If 85 percent of those are the next generation, that yields about 170 million iPhone 5s through mid 2013.

Do you think Apple will manage to sell more than 263 million iPhones over the next 12 months?

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WWDC 2012

12:10 PM |

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WWDC 2012 keynote now available for download in high-def

Ajit Magdum, Jun 12, 2012

Yesterday’s WWDC keynote is now available as a downloadable iTunes video podcast in glorious 1080p high-definition.

It’s free and watchable on all your devices and computers, including your telly via the Apple TV set-top box. Your download links are right below…

Use these links to download the keynote:

• Apple Keynotes 1080p
• Apple Keynotes HD
• Apple Keynotes

If you would rather stream the keynote, go here.

The presentation runs 1 hour and 54 minutes long.

As you know, keynote appearances include that of Apple’s boss Tim Cook, marketing honcho Phil Schiller, OS X boss Craig Federighi and iOS head Scott Forstall.

Although Apple made no mention of a next-generation iPhone, yesterday’s software-centric event has brought out a complete refresh to the Mac lineup, which includes an all-new MacBook Pro model featuring the Retina display, updates on Apple’s OS X Mountain Lion (up for release next month) and of course iOS 6 with 3D Maps, Facebook integartion and a bunch of other features.

For an at-a-glance overview of the announcements, check out our WWDC 2012 recap.

Did you watch the entire keynote yet?

If so, what did you think of the performance of Cook & Co.?

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iOS 6 Preview

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iOS 6 gives you more features to make the things you do every day even better. It’s coming this fall, and it’s free and easy to upgrade wirelessly on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch — the moment it’s available.

Beautifully designed from the ground up (and the sky down), Maps will change the way you see the world.¹ Map elements are vector based, so graphics and text are incredibly detailed — even when you zoom all the way in — and panning is smooth. Tilt and rotate to view an area, and Maps keeps the names of streets and places where they belong. Get visual and spoken turn-by-turn navigation and real-time traffic updates. Even soar over cityscapes to see the sights from the air in amazing, high-resolution quality. Learn more about Maps

Apple designed.
Enjoy new, beautifully detailed maps.
Flyover.
See cities and landmarks from the air.
Turn-by-turn navigation.
Spoken directions route you to your destination.

With iOS 6, Siri understands more languages, works in more countries, and is available on the new iPad.² So you can get more things done in more places around the world. Want to know the latest scores and stats for your favorite teams and players? Thanks to iOS 6, Siri knows the answers. Or maybe it’s movie night. Siri can show you the latest reviews and showtimes. Find the best restaurants in town and make reservations. Even open your apps for you — no tapping required. Say "Launch Flight Tracker" or "Open Angry Birds" and Siri does just that. You can even use Siri to post Facebook updates and tweet for you, too.Learn more about Siri in iOS 6

Have Siri help you find restaurants by cuisine, price, location, outdoor seating, or a combination of choices.
Siri will show you photos, Yelp stars, price range, and reviews. Siri can even make a reservation for you via OpenTable.

Now it’s easier than ever to interact with the world’s largest social network. And there’s no need to leave your app to do it. Share a photo to Facebook right from Camera or Photos. Post your location right from Maps. Brag about a high score right from Game Center. If you have your hands full, just ask Siri to post for you. You need to sign in to Facebook only once, and you’ll be off and sharing. Never miss another birthday or get-together, since Facebook events are integrated into Calendar. And your Facebook friends’ profile information is integrated into Contacts, so when they update an email address or phone number you automatically stay up to date. Now that’s something to post about.

The Like button is now part of iTunes and the App Store. So you can Like songs, albums, shows, movies, and apps. And there's no need to leave whatever app you’re in to do it.

Now you can share just the photos you want, with just the people you choose. Simply select photos from the Photos app, tap the Share button, choose who you want to share your photos with, and they’re on their way. Friends using iCloud on an iOS 6 device or a Mac running Mountain Lion get the photos delivered immediately in the Photos app or iPhoto. You can even view shared photo streams on Apple TV. If the folks you're sharing with aren’t using an Apple device, they can view your photos on the web. People can like individual photos and make comments. And you can share as much as you want: Your shared photo streams don’t count against your iCloud storage, and they work over Wi-Fi and cellular networks.

Your boarding passes, movie tickets, retail coupons, loyalty cards, and more are now all in one place. With Passbook, you can scan your iPhone or iPod touch to check in for a flight, get into a movie, and redeem a coupon. You can also see when your coupons expire, where your concert seats are, and the balance left on that all-important coffee bar card. Wake your iPhone or iPod touch, and passes appear on your Lock screen at the appropriate time and place — like when you reach the airport or walk into the store to redeem your gift card or coupon. And if your gate changes after you’ve checked in for your flight, Passbook will even alert you to make sure you’re not relaxing in the wrong terminal.

No more hunting through your wallet searching for gift cards, coupons, passes, or tickets. Passbook keeps everything organized — and handy.

FaceTime now works over cellular networks as well as Wi-Fi, so you can make and receive FaceTime calls wherever you happen to be.³ You can even make and receive FaceTime calls on your iPad using your phone number. That means you can use FaceTime wherever you are, on any device. And never miss another wink, smile, air kiss, or eye roll.

iOS 6 adds new calling features to your iPhone. Now when you decline an incoming call, you can instantly reply with a text message or set a callback reminder. And when things are just too hectic, turn on Do Not Disturb and you won’t be bothered by anyone — except can’t-miss contacts like your boss or your better half.

Turn on Do Not Disturb to suppress all incoming calls and notifications. Enable it manually or
schedule a recurring time. Or allow calls from your favorites or specific contact groups.

Redesigned with a more streamlined interface for easier reading and writing, Mail in iOS 6 lets you set up a VIP list so you’ll never miss an important message from your accountant, your boss, or your BFF. It’s even easier to add photos and videos to email messages. And to refresh your mailboxes, all you have to do is swipe down.

VIP inbox.
Your VIP list is iCloud enabled, so Mom will still be a VIP no matter which iOS device you’re using.
Photos and videos.
Add photos and videos to email messages with just a few taps.

iOS 6 brings even better web browsing to your iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch. iCloud Tabs keeps track of which pages you have open on your devices, so you can start browsing on one device and pick up right where you left off on whatever device is handy. Safari now saves web pages — not just links — in your Reading List, so you can catch up on your reading even when you can’t connect to the Internet.⁴ And when you’re posting a photo or video to eBay, Craigslist, or another site, you can take photos and video — or choose from your Camera Roll — without leaving Safari. When you really want to see the whole picture, turn your iPhone or iPod touch to landscape and tap the full-screen icon to view web pages without distractions.

Full-screen landscape.
Take websites full screen with a tap.
iCloud Tabs.
Pick up browsing wherever you left off.
Offline Reading List.
Full web pages — not just links — are saved in your Reading List.

iOS 6 comes with even more features to make it easier for people with vision, hearing, learning, and mobility disabilities to get the most from their iOS devices. Guided Access helps students with disabilities such as autism remain on task and focused on content. It allows a parent, teacher, or administrator to limit an iOS device to one app by disabling the Home button, as well as restrict touch input on certain areas of the screen. VoiceOver, the revolutionary screen reader for blind and low-vision users, is now integrated with Maps, AssistiveTouch, and Zoom. And Apple is working with top manufacturers to introduce Made for iPhone hearing aids that will deliver a power-efficient, high-quality digital audio experience.⁵

Guided Access.
Restrict touch input to certain areas of the screen.

It happens. You misplace your iPhone or your iPad or your iPod touch. Luckily, iOS 6 and iCloud now offer Lost mode, making it even easier to use Find My iPhone to locate and protect a missing device.⁶ Immediately lock your missing iPhone with a four-digit passcode and send it a message displaying a contact number. That way a good Samaritan can call you from your Lock screen without accessing the rest of the information on your iPhone. And while in Lost mode, your device will keep track of where it’s been and report back to you any time you check in with the Find My iPhone app.

Find My Friends is a great way to share locations with friends and family.⁶ Those who share their locations with you appear on a map so you can quickly see where they are and what they’re up to. And with iOS 6, you can get location-based alerts — like when your kids leave school or arrive home. Find My Friends can also notify others about your location, so you can stay connected or keep track of the ones you love.

iOS 6 brings a new kind of shopping experience to the redesigned iTunes Store, App Store, and iBookstore. See the best of what’s new in music, movies, TV shows, apps, and books at the top of each store’s home page. Browse with a swipe of your finger and tap to learn more. Keep track of the music, movies, and TV shows you previewed by tapping the History button, and when you’re ready, tap Buy to add something to your collection. With iCloud, your preview history is always up to date on all your devices. So you can start shopping on your iPhone and continue on your iPad. And now you can buy your favorite music, apps, and more without leaving the app you’re in.

With improved text input and built-in support for popular Chinese Internet services, iOS 6 makes iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch even better for Chinese-speaking users. With a new Chinese dictionary and improved text input, typing in Chinese is easier, faster, and more accurate. You can mix full and abbreviated Pinyin and even type English words in a Pinyin sentence without switching keyboards. With support for over 30,000 characters, iOS 6 more than doubles the number of Chinese characters supported in handwriting recognition. And when you add words to your personal dictionary, iCloud makes them available on all your devices. Baidu is a built-in option in Safari, and you can share videos directly to Youku and Tudou. You can also post to Sina Weibo from Camera, Photos, Maps, Safari, and Game Center.