Dear Readers,
thanks to a total power grid failure by NS HighSpeed, my train which was scheduled to arrive in Amsterdam at 9h25 has arrived only at like 13h00.
But, I am here now:
DevCon Europe Reporting starts soon – visit our sister site TamsBlackBerry to find out more:
http://tamsblackberry.tamoggemon.com
In the good old days of the Palm OS, the main issue faced by Palm was the odd resultion: a base resolution of 160×160 made scaling to more “common” resolutions was difficult.
Apple has had a similar problem with its 480×320 resolution, but managed to follow it up. Samsung is now at 800×480, and the question is what will follow next (and what is technically possible).
A PR company has now sent me the following:
MicroOLED, a maker of highly power-efficient superior image quality microdisplays for near-to-eye applications, today introduced a new 5.4 million pixel density 0.61 inch diagonal, low power consumption OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Display) microdisplay on silicon for applications demanding high picture quality, such as professional camera and camcorder equipment, night vision systems and head-mounted displays used in surgery.
The ultra-compact 5.4 million-pixel microdisplay with a sub-pixel pitch of 4.7 micrometres by 4.7 micrometres is the highest pixel density OLED microdisplay available today. By doubling the pixel density of comparable products, MicroOLED has eliminated the gap between pixels. With no black matrix present, the resulting image resolution is of the highest quality. This makes the 5.4 million-pixel 0.61 inch diagonal microdisplay most suitable for defense, medical and professional camera applications that demand sharp images with very smooth transitional tones.
As of this writing, no data on availability is given – but it looks like the resolution war can continue!
Samsung’s growth (especially at the expense of Nokia) has been tremendous – in Austria, the “shared maximal damage” policy against the Finnish manufacturer has worked out extraordinarily well.
Mobile World Live now reports the following:
Samsung is set to report smartphone shipments of well over 20 million when it reports Q3 numbers next week, a tally that will establish it as the world’s largest smartphone vendor – at least until Apple can begin to count sales of its new iPhone 4S.
The Wall Street Journal reports that the 20 million figure would top Apple’s latest quarterly iPhone sales of 17.1 million and Nokia’s 16.8 million smartphones for Q3. The Apple quarter ended 24 September, prior to the launch of iPhone 4S, and sales were down from the previous quarter suggesting many were waiting to buy the new model.
Not much to add here…
The data from the Swedish case manufacturer Krusell is extraordinarily useful as it shows “real world” data rather than the more power-user-centric data collected from things like in-app analytics.
For September 2011, the data looks as following:
PRESS RELEASE – Krusell – TOP-10 selling phones for September 2011.
1. (1) Samsung I9100 Galaxy S II
2. (2) Apple iPhone 4
3. (3) Nokia 3720 Classic
4. (-) Sony Ericsson Xperia Ray
5. (7) Samsung B2100
6. (-) HTC Sensation
7. (-) Sony Ericsson Arc S
8. (8) Nokia 6303 Classic
9. (6) Samsung GT-B2710 / Xcover 271
10. (-) Nokia E52
() = Last month’s position.The headline for Krusell’s Top Seller list of September is that in Top 3, nothing has changed from last month. Samsung Galaxy II is still the number one selling case. What is more interesting on the list is that Sony Ericsson is climbing the list with both Ray and Arc, says Ulf Sandberg CEO at Krusell. The new updated Arc S, with as a new processor and updated software has got a lot of good media which shows in the statistics. Also Ray has been met with positive feedback, and the target for Q4 is set high on this device.
Not much to add here…except that Sony Ericsson is infamous for its bad product quality and customer service…
News about RIM have not been too rosey recently – the iPhone will eat them, Palm’s firesale will kill them, etc etc.
However, the following chart clearly speaks a different language – Research in Motion’s BlackBerry has the most loyal customers:
Not much to add here…except that having a reliable service and a critical mass of users is a sure-fire way to make a living…
After HP’s initial announcement to end webOS device sales, many considered Samsung a prime candidate for licensing the operating system.
Mobile Business Briefing now reports that Samsung is uninterested:
Samsung has moved to distance itself from talk over which vendor could purchase HP’s webOS platform, while Qualcomm has emerged as a possible surprise contender.
QualComm’s motivations are described as following:
Gold believes that Qualcomm is the most logical candidate, for a number of reasons. He notes that webOS only runs on Qualcomm chips, and that the San Diego firm is involved in the OS space (Brew) but would benefit from stronger traction in software.
What do you think?
In the beginning, color screens were based on transmissive technology – this led to horrible outdoor readability. Devices like the Palm m505 had reflective screens with a slightly weaker indoor contrast, but excellent outdoor readability.
Transmissive screens like the one on the Palm Tungsten T3 has decent outdoor readability for better indoor contrast – as most phones get sold in-doors, it was clear that outdoor readability was not too important an issue for most manufacturers.
LG nas now introduced an Android device called Optimus Sol.
It has totally specs, but is advertised as following:
has a two-fold advanced reflection rate compared to standard AMOLED displays
Could this signal the return of reflective screens? I’d be all for it…
Ever since Apple’s iPad hit the road, the tablet craze has been heating up more and more – almost every maker of Android handsets now has at least one tablet on offer, and Palm has recently released one of its own, too.
The folks from research2guidance have now taken a look at what makes tablet users tick. In particular, they found that the following issues have hindered more wide-scale adaptions of media tablets (aka not tablet PCs):
Entertainment tool: First, despite the fact that enterprises and professionals have embraced tablets, based on owner surveys its primary use appears to be as a home-based entertainment tool. Although many users expect to use it to ease professional routine prior to purchase, only 20% of iPad owners use it on the go, versus 80% who use it exclusively at home.
Relatively lower capabilities: Second, it was developed as a software-use oriented device and is not as convenient for making calls, or taking pictures, as smartphones are. However, in terms of technical performance, the media tablets at the moment can hardly compete with existing netbooks or notebooks, and are not capable of performing more complex tasks.
Limited portability: Third, in terms of mobility, the size of media tablets may be a constraint, particularly when compared to mobile phones. They are not as portable as mobile phones, and therefore are not always at hand. They require certain ergonomic positioning and specific locations to comfortably use the device. This defines and limits the range of successful tablet use-cases.
Find out more via the URL below:
http://www.research2guidance.com/how-long-will-the-ipad-fever-last/
In Germany, third party organizations have long taken carrier contracts and bundled them up with all kinds of crap ranging from PlayStations to motorbikes. So far, carriers stayed out of this game – but Hutchison Austria now wants to change this in cooperation with LG.
At an event in Hutchisons Strandbar Herrmann (known for the announcement of Samsung bada held there), LG and Hutchison managers ganged up to announce a new contract:
In particular, the 24mo contract will bring users unlimited internet via a WiFi to 3G bridge and a 32″ LG TV which is 3d capable (shipped home for free):
In addition, 7 polarizing spectacles will be part of the bundle:
The maximum value, however, is achieved in combination with an LG 3D phone (24mo contract, 30€). It can be connected to the TV via a HDMI. Cable and then streams its display contents to the TV:
The display quality ranges from excellent with overscan problems (in 2D) to mediocre (in 3D):
Unfortunately, people like yours truly will stay in the rain for now – with an expected market penetration of but 3 percent in 2012, caring about individuals with less than perfect eyesight is not an item on the agenda.
Nevertheless, this bundle is interesting. Lets see when other carriers will respond…
Screen protectors tend to be all scratched up within a few weeks – once this has occurred, its time to buy another one.
At CeBit 2011, a Taiwanese company called Sewha had a small booth with a very interesting innovation:
A self-healing screen protector – it should be able to mend scratches on its own:
According to them, a release is planned for the second quarter of 2011…let’s see when the technology will hit the road for real.
If there is one company which has taken leak management to the max in the last few months, it most definitely is LG. Their dual-core Optimus 2X has been all over the media – but with no release dates.
Hutchison Austria has now confirmed that it plans to ship the device on the 25th of March in an exclusive fashion.
In the highest plan, the device will go for 0 Euros on contract.
Krusell’s sales data has been quite interesting for us in the past – the Swedish case manufacturer has an insane retail presence, and thus gives us a good overview of what “the man on the street” likes.
For this month, the data looks as following:
1. (1) Apple iPhone 4
2. (8) Samsung Galaxy tab
3. (2) HTC Desire HD
4. (3) Nokia 3720 Classic
5. (5) Nokia C5
6. (10) Nokia E52
7. (7) Samsung GT-B2710 / Xcover 271
8. (-) HTC Wildfire
9. (-) Samsung B2700
10. (6) Samsung I9000 Galaxy S
Not much to add here – the only thing which surprises me is that the iPad is not represented…
The first Palm Pilot devices contained a slot for memory cards – it allowed users to expand the memory of their device with ease. As devices became more compact, the slots went away…
Motorola’s XOOM shipped as a 3G handset, but was advertised to be able to get a hardware update to 4G networking via a new modem card:
iFixit now found out the following about the process:
It looks like the Xoom was specifically designed with this upgrade in mind. We had to fully delve into the device to find all the clues, but we believe this is the procedure Motorola will perform on your behalf:
1. Use a T5 Torx screwdriver to unscrew two screws on the bottom, and then slide the back panel to expose a mysterious circuit board that immediately becomes accessible. In fact, there are retaining clips on the back of the rear panel that prevent it from sliding any further (which of course we immediately circumvented).
2. Disconnect two antenna connectors, unscrew the two Torx screws holding the board in place, and swap it out with a 4G LTE board.
3. And… Thats it
Sounds cool to me…
Even though it runs Android, we have covered the LG Optimus 2X on more than one occasion.
The device was now released at Mobile World Congress. A picture of such a device sitting at the LG booth is here:
I proceeded to downloading a benchmark app from the Android market, and ended up with the following results:
As I do not use Android much (so far), I cannot say much. However, the system felt performant…and was real. Welcome to dual core age, folks!
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