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Showing posts with label Marketing. Show all posts

Showing posts with label Marketing. Show all posts

Apple iPhone 5c inventories estimated at over 3 million

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Although Apple has been selling record number of iDevices, the iPhone
 5c hasn’t being doing all that well.<br />
<br />
<h4 style="text-align: left;">
 See Also: Risk Free Easiest Ways to Unlock-jailbreak iPhone on iOS 7.0.6 and Use Any SIM<span class="GFPUSQ2LB"></span></h4>
What many tech pundits speculated 
has turned out to be true and the sales of iPhone 5c have been rather 
disappointing if a recent report is to be believed.<br />
According to the report, close to 2 million units of the phone are 
lying at contract manufacturer Pegatron’s plant, while the remaining are
 catching dust at retailers and carriers’ shelves. Apple hasn’t ordered 
new iPhone 5c units since last year. A major cited reason for this has 
been the rather steep price of the phone. The mid range phone costs as 
much as the Galaxy S4 and Galaxy Note 3 in some places, while its specs 
are over 18 months old now. It is rumored that Apple might have also 
learnt a lesson about the screen size from the phone and might bring a 
bigger phone the next time with a screen close to 4.5-4.7 inch in size.<br />
Although, one can’t deny the fact that the iPhone 5c has helped boost
 the sales of the iPhone 5s, which buyers perceive as a premium model 
over the plasticky iPhone 5c. This of course, has helped Apple’s profit 
margins.<br />
Hopefully, we might get to see a much called for price cut on the phone soon enough.<br />
<i>Source: <a href="http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20140305PD216.html">digitimes </a></i></div>

Apple iPhone 5c inventories estimated at over 3 million

Apple iPhone 5c inventories estimated at over 3 million

Although Apple has been selling record number of iDevices, the iPhone 5c hasn’t being doing all that well. See Also: Risk Free Easie...

Report: Worldwide Tablet Sales Grew 68 Percent in 2013

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Over the years, Android has been gaining dominance in the tablet market sphere and 2013 was the year when it finally managed to surpass Apple’s iPad in sales volume.<br />
<br />
<h4 style="text-align: left;">
See Also:  Announce: HTC Confirms M8 For March 25th</h4>
Thanks to a sheer number of low cost options, Android held 62 percent market share in 2013 according to Gartner. Meanwhile, Apple was pushed back to the second spot with a 36 percent share. Microsoft also managed to mark its present with a measly 2.1 percent share. Earlier, Gartner had predicted that Android would only be able to overtake iOS in 2015.<br />
So where did all these extra sales come from? Samsung, as you might have expected. The company saw a growth of 336 percent to ship 37 million units. Its share rose from 7.4 percent to 19.1 percent in the period, a repeat of the smartphone wars from yesteryears Apple was still first though, shipping 70 million iPads, most of which were sold in the fourth quarter. ASUS came in third thanks to the Nexus 7 and PadFone line of tablets. Amazon and Lenovo came in the fourth and fifth position respectively. Overall, 195 million tablets were shipped in the year out of which 120 million were running on Android.<br />
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Report: Worldwide Tablet Sales Grew 68 Percent in 2013

Report: Worldwide Tablet Sales Grew 68 Percent in 2013

Over the years, Android has been gaining dominance in the tablet market sphere and 2013 was the year when it finally managed to surpass ...

Microsoft Cut Windows Price 70%

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<br />
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT)
 is cutting the price of Windows 8.1 by 70 percent for makers of 
low-cost computers and tablets as they try to fend off cheaper rivals 
like Google Inc. (GOOG)’s Chromebooks, people familiar with the program said.<br />
<h4 style="text-align: left;">
See also: <a href="http://www.circlestech.com/2014/02/Microsoft-OneDrive-Offers-100GB-Free-Storage.html">Microsoft OneDrive Offers 100GB Free Storage</a></h4>
It seems like Microsoft has realized that the market today isn’t 
exactly like it was a few years back and charging licencing fee from 
OEMs isn’t exactly the best way to generate revenue nowadays. To stop 
the onslaught from Apple’s iPad and Chromebooks, the company is 
reportedly slashing the licencing fee for Windows 8.1 by almost 70 
percent for low cost devices. This should bring the price of the OS as 
low as $15 for devices cheaper than $250. Currently the fee is closer to
 $50 per license. The discount will be applicable on tablets and 
netbooks lower than the $250 price tag, irrespective of their size.<br />

Windows 8, which has sold close to 200 million
 licences till now, has failed to make an impact in the tablet market 
where even Google and Android have caught up with iPad in terms of 
sales. While the PC market is on the decline and the tablet market is 
expected to bloom, Microsoft wouldn’t want to get it wrong this time 
around. We’ve seen how 7 inch tablets changed the game for Android and 
don’t see why it won’t be possible for Windows.<br />
<i>Source: <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-02-22/microsoft-said-to-cut-windows-price-70-to-counter-rivals.html">bloomberg</a></i><br />
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Microsoft Cut Windows Price 70%

Microsoft Cut Windows Price 70%

Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) is cutting the price of Windows 8.1 by 70 percent for makers of low-cost computers and tablets as they try to f...

Report: Google Offered To Buy WhatsApp For $10 Billion

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Yesterday Facebook announced that they were buying messaging service WhatsApp for a hefty $19 billion.<br />

But they weren't the only tech giant who wanted to buy in.<br />
<br />
<h4 style="text-align: left;">
See also: <a href="http://www.circlestech.com/2014/02/Facebook-Buys-WhatsApp-for-19-Billion.html">Announce: Facebook Buys WhatsApp for $19 Billion</a></h4>
The tech community is abuzz with the news about Facebook’s acquisition
 of WhatsApp. Most have been wondering what made Facebook dole out such a
 huge amount of cash for a company that offers services similar to what 
Facebook Messenger does. Well, according to Fortune, Facebook wasn’t the
 only one who wanted to get their hands on WhatsApp. Reportedly, Google 
offered WhatsApp $10 billion for an acquisition deal. Although unlike 
Facebook, no board seat was offered along. Also, Google had even offered
 WhatsApp a payment for dropping them information in case some 
competitor made an offer to buy out the company.<br />

Why would both these giants spend so much on a service that they can 
role out themselves? Well, its not the technology, but the userbase that
 put WhatsApp’s evaluation at such a huge some. With close to 450 
million users, over 300 million of which use it everyday, it was easily 
one of the hottest properties in the market right now for tech giants to
 acquire. And just so that their competitors don’t gain an edge, 
companies are ready to spend ridiculous amounts of cash and stay secure.
 We’re starting to wonder if Viber jumped the gun too soon?<br />
<i>Source:<a href="http://www.theverge.com/2014/2/20/5429236/google-reportedly-offered-10-billion-for-whatsapp">theverge</a></i><br />
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Report: Google Offered To Buy WhatsApp For $10 Billion

Report: Google Offered To Buy WhatsApp For $10 Billion

Yesterday Facebook announced that they were buying messaging service WhatsApp for a hefty $19 billion. But they weren't the only t...

Announce: Facebook Buys WhatsApp for $19 Billion

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Facebook just made its boldest business move ever, buying the mobile-messaging service WhatsApp in a deal worth some $19 billion in cash and stock.<br />
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<h4 style="text-align: left;">
See also: <a href="http://www.circlestech.com/2014/01/facebook-accused-for-faking-your-likes.html"> Facebook accused for Faking Your Likes</a></h4>
If you can’t beat em, buy them. That’s what the board at Facebook has
 decided. In another high profile acquisition, the company has acquired 
WhatsApp for a whopping $19 billion. Facebook would pay $4 billion in 
cash and another $12 billion in Facebook shares. Another $3 billion 
would be paid in restricted stock that will vest over the four years 
after the deal’s closing.<br />

WhatsApp is a popular cross platform messaging service with over 400 million active
 users a month. It is by far the biggest player in the market, ahead of 
WeChat, Line and even Facebook Messenger. Earlier rumors last year said 
that WhatsApp was in talks with Google
 for an acquisition in a deal pegged at $1 billion. However, the size of
 this new deal dwarfs that figure. The acquisition also comes less than a
 week after Rakuten acquired another popular cross platform messenger Viber for $900 million.<br />

WhatsApp, which relies on yearly subscription fee for revenue will 
continue to operate independently even after the sale. What’s more, the 
company CEO will be joining the Facebook board of directors. Although it
 remains to be seen how Facebook will be able generate revenue out of 
the huge userbase, since WhatsApp doesn’t show any ads, until now that 
is.<br />
<i>Source: <a href="http://blog.whatsapp.com/index.php/2014/02/facebook/">blog.whatsapp</a></i><br />
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Announce: Facebook Buys WhatsApp for $19 Billion

Announce: Facebook Buys WhatsApp for $19 Billion

Facebook just made its boldest business move ever, buying the mobile-messaging service WhatsApp in a deal worth some $19 billion in cash...

Sony PS4 Sales Reach 5.3 Million Units Worldwide

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PS4 worldwide sales reached 5.3 million units as of February 8, 2014, 
Sony Computer Entertainment has announced. This is actual units sold 
through to consumers, not shipped. <br />
<h4 style="text-align: left;">
See also: <a href="http://www.circlestech.com/2014/02/report-sony-announces-plans-to-address.html">Report: Sony Announces Plans to Address Reform of PC and TV Businesses</a></h4>
Sony PlayStation 4 has not even been launched in Japan yet, and 
already the console has achieved more than what Sony was expecting of 
it.<br />
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As of February 8th, Sony has shipped 5.3 million PS4 units around 
the world. The company was aiming for 5 million units before the end of 
this fiscal and it managed to achieve that target with three weeks still
 in hand.<br />

It appears as if Sony has managed to widen the gap between its next 
gen console and its closest competitor from Microsoft. Reports about PS4
 being the best selling console in the US in the month of January have 
been also making rounds. Although the Xbox One has got titles like 
Titanfall in its arsenal, we’re assuming the early bad PR about weaker 
hardware, as well as certain games running on a higher native resolution
 on the PS4 compared to One(1080p vs. 720p), have given an edge to the 
PS4. With the launch in Japan this month, we’re expecting the rift to 
widen even further.<br />
<i>Source: <a href="http://scei.co.jp/corporate/release/140218_e.html">scei.co.jp</a></i><br />
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Sony PS4 Sales Reach 5.3 Million Units Worldwide

Sony PS4 Sales Reach 5.3 Million Units Worldwide

PS4 worldwide sales reached 5.3 million units as of February 8, 2014, Sony Computer Entertainment has announced. This is actual units so...

Microsoft Invests $15m: Windows Phone 8.1's Cortana to Be Powered by Foursquare

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Microsoft’s recent investment of $15 million into popular location-based
 app Foursquare means that it will use the app’s data in its anticipated
 Cortana voice assistant as part of the upcoming Windows Phone 8.1 release.<br />
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<h4 style="text-align: left;">
 See also: <a href="http://www.circlestech.com/2014/02/microsoft-board-names-satya-nadella-as.html">Microsoft Board names Satya Nadella as Its Next CEO</a></h4>
Now, Bloomberg claims that Microsoft would be feeding the data 
acquired from this purchase to their voice assistant Cortana in the 
upcoming Windows Phone Blue update.
<br />
The data will apparently help Cortana in providing dining and 
entertainment suggestions based on user location, as well as discounts 
and other offers in the user’s locality.<br />

Cortana is Microsoft’s answer to Apple’s Siri and Google Now. But the
 Foursquare data will also be put to use in Bing powered searches. It 
seems like Microsoft is serious about giving competition to Google and 
Apple and that’s only a good thing. The company is expected to unveil 
Windows Phone 8.1 in April at BUILD 2014.<br />
<i>Source:<a href="http://www.theverge.com/2014/2/7/5389142/windows-phone-8-1-cortana-personal-assistant-features-foursquare">theverge</a></i><br />
<i><br /></i>
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<br /></div>

Microsoft Invests $15m: Windows Phone 8.1's Cortana to Be Powered by Foursquare

Microsoft Invests $15m: Windows Phone 8.1's Cortana to Be Powered by Foursquare

Microsoft’s recent investment of $15 million into popular location-based app Foursquare means that it will use the app’s data in its ant...

Report: Sony Announces Plans to Address Reform of PC and TV Businesses

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Sony has announced that it will be selling its PC business, that 
includes VAIO range of notebooks to Japan Industrial Partners Inc. The 
deal shall be completed by March 2014.<br />
<br />
<h4 style="text-align: left;">
 See also: <a href="http://www.circlestech.com/2014/02/many-sony-xperia-ends-software-support.html">Many Sony Xperia Ends Software Support Update</a></h4>
The decision comes after a 
slowdown in the PC business, that has impacted more or less every player
 in the segment.<br />

Sony would no longer be designing new PCs or laptops and would 
instead shift its focus to post PC devices (smartphones and tablets). 
That still means that we might see some Windows running hardware from 
the company. Manufacturing and sales will also be discontinued after the
 Spring 2014 lineup gets launched globally.<br />

Meanwhile, Sony has also announced it Q3 earnings. The operating 
revenue for the company rose 23 percent year on year to $23.7 billion, 
while the operating income was at $885 million. Sony managed to sell 4.2
 million PS4 units last quarter, much more than what Microsoft achieved 
with the Xbox One in the same period. The smartphone sales grew to 10.7 
million units, up from 10 million a quarter ago. LCD TV, camera and 
camcorder business saw growth in sales as well, while the sales of 
PlayStation Vita more than doubled from last quarter to 2.0 million 
units.<br />
<i>Source: <a href="http://www.sony.net/SonyInfo/News/Press/201402/14-019E/index.html">sony</a>  </i><br />
<br />
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Report: Sony Announces Plans to Address Reform of PC and TV Businesses

Report: Sony Announces Plans to Address Reform of PC and TV Businesses

Sony has announced that it will be selling its PC business, that includes VAIO range of notebooks to Japan Industrial Partners Inc. The ...

Microsoft Board names Satya Nadella as Its Next CEO

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Microsoft’s CEO post has been at the center of rumors and leaks for 
the last couple of months. Today, the company finally announced the 
successor to Steve Balmer. Meet Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s new CEO. The 
appointment takes effect immediately, so Steve Balmer can go into an 
earlier than anticipated retirement.<br />

A quick background check on Nadella tells that he joined Microsoft 22
 years ago from Sun Microsystems. Having his roots based in India, 
Nadella moved to the US to study computer science at the University of 
Wisconsin. At Microsoft, Satya has worked on cloud and enterprise 
business. He has played an active role in taking Office to the cloud.<br />

As the newly appointed CEO, Satya has lots of challenges and tasks to
 complete. The first of them would be to transform Microsoft from a 
software focused company to a device and services and software centric 
one. This would include the Xbox business and the newly acquired handset
 business from Nokia. Also, Satya would be facing the task of increasing
 Microsoft’s presence in the smartphone and tablet business, where it 
still holds next to nothing market share when compared to the biggies.<br />

But he won’t be alone in facing these hurdles, since the company 
founder Bill Gates will take the role of Founder and Technology Advisor,
 to help Nadella take the company in the right direction.
</div>

Microsoft Board names Satya Nadella as Its Next CEO

Microsoft Board names Satya Nadella as Its Next CEO

Microsoft’s CEO post has been at the center of rumors and leaks for the last couple of months. Today, the company finally announced the ...

Samsung Unpacked event confirmed for February 24 at MWC: Hints at Galaxy S5

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This is it folks. If you’ve been waiting for sequel to the best 
seller from Samsung, you won’t have to wait much longer now, as the 
phone is set to be revealed on February 24th at Samsung’s Unpacked event
 in Barcelona.<br />
<br />
<h4 style="text-align: left;">
 See also: <a href="http://www.circlestech.com/2014/01/samsung-galaxy-note-3-neo-officially.html">Samsung Galaxy Note 3 Neo Officially Announced: Live Photos</a></h4>
The invitation drops clear hints about the event being 
about the Galaxy S5.<br />

This marks as a change in Samsung’s strategy, which otherwise waits 
until after the MWC and usually has New York or London as the venue to 
unveil its greatest phone every year. From what we’ve heard from around 
the web, Galaxy S5 will come sporting a 2K display (probably 5.2 inch in
 size), 16MP f/2.2 camera and probably a fingerprint scanner. It is also
 expected to pack Samsung’s latest version of TouchWiz UI skinned over 
Android KitKat.<br />

With just 21 days between today and February 24th, we won’t have to wait much long to see what Samsung has in store for us.<br />
<i>Source:<a href="http://www.phonearena.com/news/Samsung-Unpacked-event-confirmed-for-February-24-at-MWC-2014---should-we-wait-for-a-Galaxy-S5-announcement_id52153">phonearena</a> & <a href="https://twitter.com/SamsungMobile/status/430491945421385729/photo/1">@SamsungMobile</a></i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.</i></div>

Samsung Unpacked event confirmed for February 24 at MWC: Hints at Galaxy S5

Samsung Unpacked event confirmed for February 24 at MWC: Hints at Galaxy S5

This is it folks. If you’ve been waiting for sequel to the best seller from Samsung, you won’t have to wait much longer now, as the ph...

Windows Phone Latest Statistics Report for January 2014

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Even after the minor variations, Windows Phone has been on a steady 
growth trajectory for quite sometime. However, what’s really concerning 
here is the fact that most of that growth is coming from the lower end 
segment.<br />
<br />
<h4 style="text-align: left;">
 See also: <a href="http://www.circlestech.com/2014/01/microsoft-slashes-prices-of-dell.html">Microsoft Slashes Prices of (Dell, Toshiba, Lenovo, Samsung) Windows 8.1 Tablets!</a><span class="GHUY-LPLB"></span></h4>
Lumia 520 and Lumia 620 alone make up for over 50 percent of 
all WP8 devices, while the Lumia 1020 and 1520 are still to make an 
impact on the charts.<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
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AdDuplex data for the month of January shows that the Lumia 520 and 
521 together make up for over 40 percent of all WP8 devices and over one
 third of all Windows Phones (including WP7 devices). However, its 
growth has rather slowed down, growing only 0.2 percent from last month.
 Lumia 625 has taken the reigns instead, growing by 0.4 percentage 
points.Nokia controls close to 90 percent of the market, while HTC is 
still hanging there with 5 percent market share. What’s concerning for 
Microsoft here is the dominance of low end phones on the charts. Nokia 
Lumia 920 was the only ‘high end’ phone on the charts, while the Lumia 
1520 and 1020 were nowhere to be seen.<br />
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<br />

Meanwhile, close to 80 percent of all Windows Phone handsets are now 
running on Windows Phone 8. However, the number is down from last month,
 which is really bizarre. AdDuplex’s explanation for this behavior is 
that previous month’s data was collected after Christmas when everyone 
was unwrapping their new smartphones and loading them up with apps, 
which eventually died out.<br />
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<br />

14 percent devices are now on the GDR3 update, while a majority are 
still on GDR2. Country wise breakdown reveals that all major markets 
except Germany have the Lumia 520 as the most popular WP handset. 
Perhaps it is about time Nokia gave the world a 5 inch champion device 
we’ve all been waiting for.<br />

Meanwhile, AdDuplex has spotted a Samsung device (SM-W750V) with 
1080p display and 4.3 inch display size. It’s running on Windows Phone 8
 instead of WP8.1, so we might see it real soon. Another 4 inch device 
from Nokia (Nokia RM-997) has been spotted, but only in China.<br />
<i>Source: <a href="http://blog.adduplex.com/2014/01/adduplex-windows-phone-statistics.html">adduplex </a></i><br />
<br />
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Windows Phone Latest Statistics Report for January 2014

Windows Phone Latest Statistics Report for January 2014

Even after the minor variations, Windows Phone has been on a steady growth trajectory for quite sometime. However, what’s really concernin...

Google reports record revenue of $16.86 billion in Q4 2013: Announces

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Google has announced its earnings for Q4 13 and its raining money at 
Mountain View. The search giant managed to rake in $16.86 billion in 
revenue in Q4, up 17 percent over the same period last year.<br />
<br />
<h4 style="text-align: left;">
 See also: <a href="http://www.circlestech.com/2014/01/google-confirms-its-selling-motorola.html">Google confirms it’s selling Motorola Mobility to Lenovo for $2.91Billion</a></h4>
The GAAP 
operating income for the fourth quarter stood at $3.92 billion.<br />

Google-owned sites generated a whopping $10.55 billion, or 67% of 
total Google segment revenues. Its partner sites brought in $3.52 
billion, while other revenues stood at $1.65 billion. Paid clicks grew 
by 13 percent quarter on quarter, but the cost per click was down 2 
percent compared to the last quarter. In what might be Motorola’s last contribution (or should we say last loss), the division brought in $1.24 billion, down from $1.51 billion an year ago.<br />
<i>Source:<a href="http://investor.google.com/earnings/2013/Q4_google_earnings.html">investor.google </a></i><br />
<br />
<i>Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.</i></div>

Google reports record revenue of $16.86 billion in Q4 2013: Announces

Google reports record revenue of $16.86 billion in Q4 2013: Announces

Google has announced its earnings for Q4 13 and its raining money at Mountain View. The search giant managed to rake in $16.86 billion ...

IDC: Tablet sales up 50% in 2013, but growth is slowing down

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With laptop sales slowing, those volumes have to shift somewhere, 
right? And that’s why tablets have been flying off the shelves in the 
last couple of years. 2013 was no different and saw a 50.6 percent year 
on year growth for total shipments of 217.1 million units.<br />
<br />
<h4 style="text-align: left;">
See also: <a href="http://www.circlestech.com/2014/01/microsoft-slashes-prices-of-dell.html">Microsoft Slashes Prices of (Dell, Toshiba, Lenovo, Samsung) Windows 8.1 Tablets!</a></h4>
2013 was again no different in the sense that Apple’s iPad 
spearheaded the sales, with shipments crossing 26 million in the fourth 
quarter alone. It held a 33.8 percent market share in Q4, but has failed
 to keep the same pace of growth as the overall industry.<br />
Samsung was second, capturing an 18.8 percent market share in Q4 and 
clocking a YoY growth of astonishing 85.9 percent. Meanwhile, shipments 
were down for Amazon in Q4 compared to last year. Asus came in fourth 
thanks to the Nexus 7 and PadFone range of tablets. It was Lenovo here 
that stole the show. Although fifth on the charts, it clocked a growth 
of mind boggling 325 percent.<br />
For the future, here’s what Research Director Tom Mainelli at IDC had to say:<br />
“It’s becoming increasingly clear that markets such as the U.S. are 
reaching high levels of consumer saturation and while emerging markets 
continue to show strong growth this has not been enough to sustain the 
dramatic worldwide growth rates of years past. We expect commercial 
purchases of tablets to continue to accelerate in mature markets, but 
softness in the consumer segment—brought about by high penetration rates
 and increased competition for the consumer dollar—point to a more 
challenging environment for tablets in 2014 and beyond.”<br />
<i>Source: <a href="http://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS24650614">idc</a> & <a href="http://blog.gsmarena.com/idc-tablet-market-in-2013-was-doing-great-but-growth-is-slowing-down/">gsmarena</a></i><br />
<br />
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IDC: Tablet sales up 50% in 2013, but growth is slowing down

IDC: Tablet sales up 50% in 2013, but growth is slowing down

With laptop sales slowing, those volumes have to shift somewhere, right? And that’s why tablets have been flying off the shelves in the ...

Google confirms it’s selling Motorola Mobility to Lenovo for $2.91Billion

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Seems like Motorola will have to change their logo soon enough as it 
will no longer be a Google company. Google has decided to sell Motorola 
Mobility to Lenovo in a deal valued at $2.91 billion.<br />
<br />
<h4 style="text-align: left;">
 See also: <a href="http://www.circlestech.com/2014/01/google-buys-deepmind-artificial.html">Google buys DeepMind artificial intelligence firm For $240 Million</a></h4>
Now, Motorola was 
acquired by Google for $12.5 billion in 2012. However, the company isn’t
 making a loss of close to $10 billion on the deal as you’d think. 
Instead, it will be keeping a majority of Motorola’s patents, while 
Lenovo will get the handset business along with the Motorola Mobility 
brand and its trademarks and close to 2,000 patents. Google will allow 
Lenovo to licence out the patents the Mountain View giant will be 
keeping with itself.<br />

Despite Google’s best efforts and launch of devices like the Moto X 
and the Moto G, Motorola has still been a loss making business at Google
 for as long as it has managed it. With close ties with Samsung and 
other manufacturers Google might have though that it doesn’t need the 
hardware making business afterall. Lenovo on the other hand, will get a 
much needed foothold in the US market where Motorola still has a strong 
presence.<br />

We’re hoping that Lenovo can turn around Motorola’s fortunes, the way
 it did with the ThinkPad after acquiring it from IBM. The deal should 
be closed after it gets regulatory approvals both in China and the 
United States.<br />
<i> Source:<a href="http://investor.google.com/releases/2014/0129.html">investor.google</a></i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments.</i></div>

Google confirms it’s selling Motorola Mobility to Lenovo for $2.91Billion

Google confirms it’s selling Motorola Mobility to Lenovo for $2.91Billion

Seems like Motorola will have to change their logo soon enough as it will no longer be a Google company. Google has decided to sell Moto...

Android OS Captured 79% Share of Worldwide Smartphone Shipments in 2013

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With 990 million smartphones being sold in 2013 according to Strategy
 Analytics, a major chunk of them belonged to the droid family. In fact,
 Android was present on 4 out of every 5 smartphones sold last year.<br />
<br />
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With 781million Android smartphones in consumers’ hands, Android held
 a solid 78.9 percent market share, up from 68.8 percent last year. A 
chunk of that growth came at the expense of Apple’s market share, which 
despite selling 153 million iPhones (up from 135 million in 2012) saw 
its market share shrink to 3.6 percent.<br />
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<br />
2013 also saw Windows Phone being firmly placed in the third spot. 
Although, with just 35.7 million smartphones sold, it could only capture
 3.6 percent of the overall market. That’s not all that bad though, 
since the number is double of what Microsoft could manage in 2012.<br />
<br />
<h4 style="text-align: left;">
See also: <a href="http://www.circlestech.com/2014/01/reports-global-smartphone-shipments.html">Reports: Global Smartphone Shipments Reach a First Time, Record 990 Million Units in 2013</a></h4>
SA expects slowdown of Android in 2014 due to the increasing 
competition. Meanwhile, BlackBerry has dropped out of the main list and 
joined others. That’s all we need to know how it performed in 2013.<br />
<i>Image:<a href="http://s1.ibtimes.com/sites/www.ibtimes.com/files/styles/v2_article_large/public/2013/05/17/android.jpg">ibtimes </a>Source: <a href="http://blogs.strategyanalytics.com/WSS/post/2014/01/29/Android-Captured-79-Share-of-Global-Smartphone-Shipments-in-2013.aspx">strategyanalytics </a></i><br />
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Android OS Captured 79% Share of Worldwide Smartphone Shipments in 2013

Android OS Captured 79% Share of Worldwide Smartphone Shipments in 2013

With 990 million smartphones being sold in 2013 according to Strategy Analytics, a major chunk of them belonged to the droid family. In ...

Google buys DeepMind artificial intelligence firm For $240 Million

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Is the rise of the machines nearly 
upon us?  It maybe nearer than you think, as Google’s latest acquisition
 is in line with their recent purchases of seven robotics firms, 
including Industrial Perception, which specialises in machines that can 
package goods and Mekabot, which makes humanoid robots.  <br />
<br />
<h4 style="text-align: left;">
See also: <a href="http://www.circlestech.com/2014/01/google-buys-nest-labs-for-32-billion-in.html">Google buys Nest Labs for $3.2 billion in Cash</a></h4>
However, as an alternative to being used in the robotics division, it is more likely that the acquisition of <a href="http://deepmind.com/" target="_blank" title="DeepMind">DeepMind</a>
 will be used to further improve Google’s current technologies – 
including the voice and text search features which are so widely used 
today.<br />
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DeepMind’s technology could help develop Google’s most recent 
‘Hummingbird’ search update, which was created to make Google ‘more 
human’ and searches can now understand context, very similarly to what a
 human brain does.  In addition to its ‘Hummingbird’ search update, the 
Google Now app uses ‘predictive analysis’ which enables it to predict 
what Android users will do next, before offering relevant help and 
information at each step without ever being asked to do so.<br />
The company was set up by neuroscientist Demis Hassabis, along with 
Artificial Intelligence experts Shane Legg and Mustafa Suleyman.  The 
company website states DeepMind uses ‘the best techniques from machine 
learning and systems neuroscience to build powerful general-purpose 
learning algorithms.’   They have previously created algorithms for 
retailers and game creators. A Report from The Information states that Facebook had also been in negotiations to buy the startup.<br />
Interestingly, Google has agreed to set up an ethics board to make 
sure the DeepMind AI technology isn’t ‘abused’, sources familiar with 
the plans told The Information.  The DeepMind-Google ethics board will 
be set up to create a series of rules and restrictions over the use of 
the technology.  This seems all too familiar.  Remember Asimov’s 3 laws 
of robotics?<br />
Google also hired futurist Ray Kurzweil as Engineering Director back 
in 2012.  Kurzweil has famously claimed that in just over 30 years time,
 humans will be able to upload their minds to computers and thereby 
become digitally immortal, an event called ‘singularity’.  He also 
claimed the biological parts of our body will be replaced with 
mechanical parts and this could happen as early as 2100.  So maybe the 
rise of the machines is imminent.  Cue Terminator music…<br />
<i>Source:<a href="http://hexus.net/business/news/corporate/65401-artificial-intelligence-firm-deepmind-acquired-google/">hexus</a>  Image:<a href="http://www.channelnewsasia.com/image/890434/1387550732000/large16x9/768/432/the-google-logo-at-the.jpg">channelnewsasia</a></i><br />
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Google buys DeepMind artificial intelligence firm For $240 Million

Google buys DeepMind artificial intelligence firm For $240 Million

Is the rise of the machines nearly upon us? It maybe nearer than you think, as Google’s latest acquisition is in line with their rec...

Apple Report: Enter The Mobile Payments Business

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Do you use Paypal?  Many of us do!  But Apple has also started laying the foundations for a strong mobile payment service. <br />
<br />
<h4 style="text-align: left;">
See also:  <a href="http://www.circlestech.com/2014/01/apple-breaks-revenue-iphone-and-ipad.html">Apple breaks revenue, iPhone, and iPad records in Q1</a></h4>
Eddy
 Cue,  App Store chief, has met with many payment decision makers in 
order to discuss the company’s potential in creating a payments business
 for goods and services, says the Wall Street Journal.  Apple has 
supposedly met with at least five payments industry administrators but 
has apparently chosen Jennifer Bailey, head of the company’s online 
store, to construct the new venture.<br />
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This push towards a bigger mobile payments service is not a new idea by Apple
 but they have been exploring this aspect since 2011 when they began 
working on a ‘wallet app’ that had the potential to become a mobile 
payment service.  They ultimately got rid of the project as there were 
worried about near-field-communication technology’s drain on battery 
life as well as potential problems with customers who might blame Apple 
for bad customer service from outside merchants.<br />
By 2017, it is estimated, by research firm Forrester, that Americans 
will spend over $90 billion on mobile payments.  It is a fast growing 
business.  American’s spend around $12.8 billion already.<br />
Stripe recently announced they would spend $80 million in new 
funding, making it the fastest-growing payments startup at $1.75 
billion.<br />
On an April 2013 conference call, Apple CEO, Tim Cook, told investors
 that Mobile payment technology is still in the early stages.  But if 
anyone has the technology and resources to create a captivating Mobile 
payments technology, it’s Apple!<br />
So far, besides Apple’s own digital wares, the mobile payments have been limited to <a href="http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5483" target="_blank" title="Passbook">Passbook </a>which
 is an in-built app for storing digital coupons, tickets, gift cards as 
well as mobile payments.   It is still foggy as to whether Passbook 
would be built up or a completely new wallet app be created.<br />
<i>Image:<a href="http://www.imore.com/apple-reportedly-interested-handling-mobile-payments-would-you-use-itunes-over-paypal-or-square">imore</a> Image+Source: <a href="http://venturebeat.com/2014/01/25/apple-mobile-payments-business-rumor/"><cite class="vurls">venturebeat</cite></a></i><br />
<br />
<cite class="vurls">Have something to add to this story? Share it in the comments. </cite></div>
</div>
</div>

Apple Report: Enter The Mobile Payments Business

Apple Report: Enter The Mobile Payments Business

Do you use Paypal? Many of us do! But Apple has also started laying the foundations for a strong mobile payment service. Se...

Reports: Global Smartphone Shipments Reach a First Time, Record 990 Million Units in 2013

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Put it this way. If every person on this planet kept one smartphone 
that they purchased in 2013 for themselves, one in every seven people 
would have walked with a new smartphone in their hands.<br />
<br />
<h4 style="text-align: left;">
See also: <a href="http://www.circlestech.com/2014/01/samsung-to-pay-ericsson-650-million.html">Samsung to pay Ericsson $650 million plus royalties to end patent spat: See Our Benefits</a></h4>
Two separate 
reports from two analysts put the sales of smartphones in 2013 close to a
 billion. While, IDC claims the sales topped one billion, Strategy 
Analysts claim the figure stood at close to 990 million. Still, that’s a
 lot of smartphones. The annual growth rate was also close to an 
astonishing 40 percent. No wonder every one wants to get on the phone 
making bandwagon.<br />
Breakdown of the sales reveals that Samsung accounted to almost a 
third of all those sales, shipping 319.8 million smartphones worldwide 
(IDC report puts the number at 313.9 million). And although the Galaxy 
S4 and the Note 3 were key drivers to the sales, umpteen other models 
also played their roles well.<br />
Apple came in second, shipping close to 150 million smartphones, or 
less than half of what Samsung managed. Although, the higher profit 
margins on the sales of iPhone means the company still made a lot of 
cash. However, with just 13 percent growth rate, Apple failed to keep up
 with the market’s pace.<br />
LG, Huawei and Lenovo came in third, fourth and fifth respectively 
(fifth, third and fourth respectively, according to IDC), selling under 
50 million smartphones each. This year also saw local manufacturers 
offering large sized cheap Androids capture a significant share in 
markets like Korea, China and India.<br />
<i>Source:<a href="http://www.idc.com/getdoc.jsp?containerId=prUS24645514"> idc </a> &<a href="http://blogs.strategyanalytics.com/WSS/post/2014/01/27/Global-Smartphone-Shipments-Reach-a-Record-990-Million-Units-in-2013.aspx"> strategyanalytics</a></i><br />
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Reports: Global Smartphone Shipments Reach a First Time, Record 990 Million Units in 2013

Reports: Global Smartphone Shipments Reach a First Time, Record 990 Million Units in 2013

Put it this way. If every person on this planet kept one smartphone that they purchased in 2013 for themselves, one in every seven peopl...

Apple breaks revenue, iPhone, and iPad records in Q1

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Although recent numbers have shown Apple loosing market share in most
 of the markets, its quarterly report paints a different picture. The 
last quarter of 2013 was the best so far for Apple.<br />
<br />
<h4 style="text-align: left;">
See also:  <a href="http://www.circlestech.com/2014/01/report-apples-iphone-6-design-locked.html">Report: Apple's 'iPhone 6' design 'locked down' with 4.8" display</a></h4>
The company managed 
to ship a whopping 51 million iPhones in the quarter, a new record. 
Apple hasn’t revealed the 5s, 5c breakdown, but has admitted the sales 
of the latter have been somewhat disappointing. Still the numbers prove 
that the company won’t be just swept away with the green wave and can 
hold its ground pretty well even in tough competition.<br />
Apple also managed to ship 26 million iPads in the same period, which
 is again an all time high figure. More good news came from Mac sales, 
whihc reached 4.8 million in the quarter. Although, the iPod sales were 
down 55 percent year on year.<br />
Still it was a positive picture on the whole for the Cupertino giant,
 with net revenues of $57.6 billion. The profit was relatively flat 
at $13.1 billion. For the next quarter, the company expects a revenue of
 $42-44 billion.<br />
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<i>Image+Source: <a href="http://www.engadget.com/2014/01/27/apple-record-iphone-ipad-sales/">engadget</a></i><br />
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Apple breaks revenue, iPhone, and iPad records in Q1

Apple breaks revenue, iPhone, and iPad records in Q1

Although recent numbers have shown Apple loosing market share in most of the markets, its quarterly report paints a different pic...

Samsung to pay Ericsson $650 million plus royalties to end patent spat: See Our Benefits

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It seems like Samsung’s new year resolution for 2014 is to avoid 
patent disputes and making rounds to the courts.<br />
<br />
<h4 style="text-align: left;">
 See also: <a href="http://www.circlestech.com/2014/01/samsung-electronics-announces-fourth.html">Samsung Electronics Announces Fourth Quarter And Full-Year Financial 2013 Results</a></h4>
Perhaps that why, the 
company after signing a 10 year cross licencing patent deal
 with Google, the company has signed another $650 million deal with 
Swedish company Ericsson in addition to royalty fees for years.<br />

The settlement comes two years after Ericsson sued the company for 
infringing multiple patents. Some of these were related to touchscreen 
functions and network efficiency. Initially, Samsung had signed a deal 
with Ericsson all the way back in 2001, which was then renewed in 2007 
again. Although, when the time came to renew it again in 2011, Samsung 
accused Ericsson of way more than what it felt was reasonable.<br />

Well, now that’s settled, we hope Samsung would soon settle its 
ongoing dispute with Apple as well. After all, no one likes wasting 
their hard earned cash on lawyers, do they?<br />
<i>Source:<a href="http://www.gsmarena.com/samsung_and_ericsson_to_settle_patent_quarrel_for_650_million-news-7671.php">gsmarena</a> & <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/27/ericsson-samsung-idUSL5N0L10H620140127">reuters</a> </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
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Samsung to pay Ericsson $650 million plus royalties to end patent spat: See Our Benefits

Samsung to pay Ericsson $650 million plus royalties to end patent spat: See Our Benefits

It seems like Samsung’s new year resolution for 2014 is to avoid patent disputes and making rounds to the courts. See also: Samsung...

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