iphone 4
TechCrunch »
Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, there lived a website called Apple.de. And on this website, in historical Deutschland, there lived three iPhones and an iPad. They were a happy bunch: some wise but slow with old age, others quick and lean, but they all had one tragic flaw in common.
According to a court in Germany, all four of them are infringing on Motorola patents related to embedded 3G/UMTS wireless technology, FRAND standards essential patents to be specific. This means that the technology within the patents is now a standard across the industry, and the company that owns said technology is required to license it to competitors under fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory terms.
That said, the Mannheim Regional Court has enforced a permanent injunction on the iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, iPhone 3G and the iPad 2 3G. Luckily for German fanbois, the ban only affects Apple’s online presence. Customers can still purchase all four products in various retail locations, including Apple brick-and-mortar stores.
This all comes back to a ruling in December, where the Mannheim court issued a preliminary injunction against Apple’s infringing products.
German: “Derzeit nicht verfügbar”
English: “Not currently available.”
You may notice one wireless Apple device — the one that speaks — missing from the list. That’s likely because the iPhone 4S uses a Qualcomm chip as opposed to an Infineon/Intel chip. FOSS Patents suggests that Moto and Qualcomm have a licensing deal already in place, which would mean that Apple is covered by extension with regards to the 4S.
In other Apple/Motorola/Germany-related news, Moto also won a permanent injunction today against Apple’s iCloud push email feature. This means Apple customers in Germany will likely be forced to revert back to the old method of push email, rather than using iCloud.
Update: According to AllThingsD, Apple will have its banned products back online and available on its German site very soon. Apple was in the midst of appealing the ruling while it was removing the products from its online storefront, and the appeal has won the Cupertino-based company a suspension of the injunction.
Here’s the official statement from Apple:
Apple appealed this ruling because Motorola repeatedly refuses to license this patent to Apple on reasonable terms, despite having declared it an industry standard patent seven years ago.
TechRadar »
Best free video converter: 1-6
AVI, MOV, MPEG, FLV, MKV, MP4 - videos come in many different formats. Each of which can then vary in a raft of subtle ways.
Which would be just fine if every application and device could handle every possible format, but of course that isn't the case.
And so often you'll find you've downloaded a movie to your PC, phone or tablet, but either it has major playback problems - no picture or sound, say - or you can't watch the clip at all.
This doesn't have to hold you up for long, though. There are plenty of free video conversion tools which can quickly import movies in just about any format, perhaps tweak them in useful ways (change the resolution, maybe carry out basic editing operations), and export them in formats you can actually use.
And if you're aiming to view the clip on a mobile device then some of these programs can be incredibly easy to use. They'll often include a library of presets for common devices, so if you want to export a video to an iPhone 4, say, you won't have to manually tweak every possible setting.
Just choose the iPhone 4 preset and the program will automatically configure itself to produce the precise format you need.
The only real problem is that there are now so many free video conversion tools that you might be left wondering, which is best? We're curious, too - so we decided to pitch 12 popular packages against each other in an effort to find out.
NOTE: While these tools are free, many now include browser toolbars and similar addons. If you'd rather not install these, don't just keep clicking Next during the setup process: read each screen carefully. Choose "Custom" installation options where they're offered, and clear the checkboxes next to any "bonus extras" which you'd rather not have on your system.
Best free video converter: How we tested
Our first measurement of video conversion tool quality comes in looking at its features. How many formats can it import and export, for instance? Do these cover all the options you'll need?
We checked to make sure that you can carry out basic tweaks during the conversion process, like changing the video resolution. And we awarded extra marks for bonus features, such as the ability to edit the source video before converting it.
Video editing can be a complicated, jargon-packed process, so we were also interested in ease of use. We wanted our conversion tools to provide access to low-level conversion options (sometimes that's very useful), but these should never get in your way.
Our utilities should ideally provide sensible default settings at all times, and device presets as well, so you can export to, say, an iPad 2 just by selecting it from a list.
And as converting videos can take a very long time, performance is particularly important. To measure this, we gave each conversion tool four tests.
Starting with the source files from Big Buck Bunny, we converted the 1080p surround-sound AVI to 320x240 WMV; tried transcoding the 480p MOV to MP4 (vital as that's such an important format these days); and converted the 320x180 MP4 file to both FLV and MPEG2.
AVI to WMV
MOV to MP4
MP4 to FLV
MP4 to MPEG2
And while these tests don't cover every possibility, they provided a great deal of very useful information. So read on to discover which conversion tools you really need to consider, and the programs you should avoid at all costs.
1. Any Video Converter Free 3.3.2
Compatible with: Windows 2000, XP, Vista, 7
Video conversion tools can sometimes be scary, complex, intimidating - but not this one. If your needs are basic then you can just drag in your files, choose the output format you need from the wide selection on offer, click "Convert Now!", and the program will go to work. It's all very easy.
There's also plenty of power here, though. Any Video Converter Free can download videos directly from YouTube, Google, MetaCafe and so on, for instance. Handy editing options include the ability to trim and crop footage, and apply useful special effects (sharpen, reduce noise, tweak brightness or contrast). And once you've chosen an output profile then you can customise a few of its settings, perhaps choosing a new resolution, frame rate, bit rate and so on.
Performance was a little disappointing, especially considering that Any Video Converter is (like many similar programs) mostly just a front end for the excellent FFMPEG conversion library. Only two programs were slower in the important MP4 conversion test, and the others weren't quick, either.
And there was another problem. The program includes a "Burning to DVD" profile which is supposed to burn your videos to DVD when the conversion is over, but just gave us an error message.
This is a pity, because Ant Video Converter is well designed and had lots of useful functionality. It only offers limited control over the conversion process, so video experts may want to look elsewhere, but if you're more interested in ease of use and can put up with the below-par performance then this could be an acceptable choice.
We liked
Easy to use, downloads from YouTube, useful video editing features, supports many input/ output formats
We disliked
Only limited control over the video conversion, DVD burning didn't work for us, disappointing performance
2. Free Studio 5.3.3
Compatible with: Windows XP, Vista, 7
Free Studio is a suite of 45 freeware tools to handle all kinds of video-related tasks: downloading, ripping, burning, and of course converting clips from one format to another.
A front end menu tries to integrate all these, but it still takes some exploration to find what you need. Once discovered the relevant tools, though, they follow the usual route: import your chosen videos, choose the appropriate output format or device, and convert at a click.
If Free Studio doesn't provide a profile to suit your needs, then it's possible to configure a new one. So if you need to create 1024x768 AVIs, say, then in a click or two you can build a profile which uses that resolution, and in future you'll be able to simply select it from the list. Which is handy, although there are only very few tweaks available within a profile: video frame rate, bit rate, resolution, audio sample rate, bit rate, the number of audio channels, and, well, that's it. (You can't even choose the audio codec, typically - the program selects what's appropriate for the format.)
When it comes to performance, the story is mixed: Free Studio did very well in the important MP4 conversion tests, but was poor at creating FLVs, and couldn't produce an MPEG2 file at all.
And so if you're looking for real video conversion power this Free Studio probably won't be good enough. But if you only need to convert videos occasionally, maybe to MP4, then Free Studio may deliver exactly what you need (and its ease of use and host of extras are a welcome bonus.)
We liked
Well designed, many extras (download, ripping, burning tools), good MP4 conversion speed
We disliked
conversion functions are inconveniently split across several programs, only limited conversion tweaks, slow FLV export, failed to create MP2 file
3. Format Factory 2.80
Compatible with: Windows XP, Vista, 7
Format Factory offers a good balance between ease of use and video conversion power. It's easy to get started: you can choose the type of file you'd like to create, add some videos to be converted, and pick your required output settings. But you also just get a little more control over those settings than in some of the more basic tools here.
When creating an MP4 movie, for instance, you can choose the encoding option (DivX, XviD, H264); the video resolution; frame rate, audio codec, sample rate, volume and more, even rotating the image, or adding subtitles or a watermark, if you like.
But if you're in a hurry, no problem, the program also provides multiple profiles which configure all your settings in a click. The MP4 conversion, for instance, has 27, with descriptive names like "Mobile Device Compatible 320x240 MPEG4", so it's easy to find what you need. (And if for some reason it isn't, then you can easily create new profiles to do whatever you want.)
Performance wasn't bad, either, with Format Factory scoring well on our HD to MP4 and WMV tests, although its inability to run our MP4 to FLV conversion dragged its mark down.
The programs mix of usability with plenty of advanced conversion tweaks does mean it's worth a look, though. And as a bonus, there are plenty of extra options, including the ability to create animated GIFs from movies, extract video soundtracks, convert audio and image files, rip DVDs and CDs, and more.
We liked
Advanced conversion options, plenty of built-in conversion presets, watermark and subtitling support, bonus audio/ image/ other conversion types, good MP4/ WMV output performance
We disliked
Failed to convert one test file
4. Freemake Video Converter 3.0.1
Compatible with: Windows XP, Vista, 7
If you need your conversion tool to support the widest possible range of formats then Freemake Video Converter could be ideal: it supports a lengthy list of video types, as well as being able to import audio files, images, DVDs, even YouTube URLs.
Once your movies have been imported, you're able to remove sections you don't need via a simple video editor. There's a useful option to set a limit on the maximum size of your movie, or you might choose to import a series of files, but then join them together so they're saved as a single video.
Export support for files is a little more basic, being mostly limited to the essentials, and you can only tweak a few elements of your chosen format (codec, resolution, frame rate, audio and video bitrate, sample rate, channels).
Exporting to mobile devices is better, however, with support for many Apple, Nokia, Samsung, Blackberry and other device types (there are even pictures of many phones, rather than just the model names, to help you choose). Choose the appropriate device and the program will automatically configure itself to produce compatible videos: all you have to do is click Convert and watch it happen.
And you won't be watching long, as Freemake Video Converter delivers marginally above-average performance, not least because of its CUDA support.
A few more output formats would be welcome, then, as would some more advanced conversion tweaks. But that's really just nit-picking: Freemake Video Converter is an excellent tool which already has more than enough power to satisfy most people's transcoding needs.
We liked
Wide input file format support, lots of device export options, simple video editor, can limit converted video size, reasonable performance, easy to use
We disliked
Output file format support is limited, can only tweak a few aspects of the converted videos
5. Handbrake 0.9.5
Compatible with: Windows XP, Vista, 7, Mac OSX, Linux
HandBrake is probably the oldest of our crop of conversion tools, having been around since 2003. And it's also one of the more specialised, being best at transcoding videos to run on Apple devices. The program can only export MP4 and MKV files, for example, and its output presets are mostly Apple related (iPod, iPhone, iPad and so on).
As long as your target device plays MP4 files, though (and most do), this doesn't have to be a major problem. And HandBrake does enable you to customise the video conversion process in many different ways, which could be appealing if you find the competition a little too basic.
Once you've selected your source files, for instance, you can of course choose the output resolution, video and audio codecs, frame rates and so on. But there are also options to crop the source footage, add subtitles, or include extra audio tracks. You can include chapter markers, or apply some useful cleanup filters (Detelecine, Decomb, Deinterlace, Denoise, Deblock). And real experts can access many low-level encoding and analysis details via the Advanced tab.
What you don't get here are spectacular conversion speeds, unfortunately: Handbrake's MP4 output performance remained resolutely average in our tests (although perhaps it could be improved if you spend time tuning the program's more advanced settings). Still, if you need lots of encoding options, and can live with the meagre selection of output formats, then Handbrake may still be a reasonable transcoding choice.
We liked
Many useful editing options and video filters, advanced encoding and analysis tweaks
We disliked
Only exports MP4 and MKV files, average conversion speeds
6. Internet Video Converter HD
Compatible with: Windows XP, Vista, 7
If there were awards given for horrible interfaces then Internet Video Converter HD (IVC HD) would be an obvious candidate. It's a cluttered mess, confusing and poorly laid out, and will quickly have you wishing you'd downloaded a more conventional tool, instead. The program has received quite a few positive reviews, though, and once you get past the dubious design decisions then a few plus points do emerge.
IVC HD can download videos from YouTube and 12 other video sharing sites, for instance. It's able to create Flash files (FLV or SWF) from your videos, and can generate the HTML to host them. Editing options include the ability to trim, rotate, deinterlace or sharpen your source footage, and converting HD footage from one format to another is simplified by a convenient set of built-in presets: just choose the one which matches your needs and you'll be ready to go.
The basic conversion process isn't too difficult to follow, either, once you've tried it a few times. Choose your input video, pick an output format, customise a few settings and click Convert: even if the developer is entirely clueless about interface design, the core procedure is just the same as with more normal tools.
Performance isn't quite as good as you'll get elsewhere, however, with the program delivering marginally below average conversion speeds in our tests. And so, if you really need the video downloading feature, or you want to generate Flash files (SWF) with matching HTML then IVC HD might be worth a try, just about. But otherwise we'd recommend you ignore it entirely
We liked
Handy HD conversion presets, downloads online videos from many sites, can generate HTML for Flash files, some basic editing options
We disliked
Dreadful interface, below average performance
Best free video converter: 7-12
7. KoyoteSoft Free Video Converter 3.1.0.0
Compatible with: Windows XP, Vista, 7
At first glance, Free Video Converter doesn't look like the most impressive of transcoding tools. File format support is limited, for instance; you can only tweak the most basic aspects of the output video (codec, resolution, frame rate, bitrate and so on); and there's nothing like the bonus features you'll get with some of the more powerful competition.
Try a few conversions, though, and the program will soon seem more appealing. Importing videos is just a matter of dragging and dropping, for instance (and it supports all the formats most people will ever need). There are lots of presets available for various devices (Apple, Android, Sony, BlackBerry, Xbox and more). And while there's only one editing tool, it's perhaps the most important, allowing you to trim unwanted footage from the start and end of your clip.
There are also some issues, though. And the major one is performance. The program proved particularly slow in our HD conversion tests, and the other times weren't great, either. While elsewhere, minor irritations included the lack of a local help file, always an issue when you're dealing with such a complex topic. And an interface quick means you can't manually type the video bitrate you require into the program (you're bizarrely forced to use assorted buttons and a slider, instead).
Free Video Converter scores highly for its ease of use, then, and if you only occasionally need to run simple conversions of small files then it may be good enough. If you're after power or performance, though, the program will probably disappoint.
We liked
Easy to use, lots of device presets, video trimmer
We disliked
Relatively limited file format support, some interface quirks, poor HD transcoding performance
8. MediaCoder 2011 R10
Compatible with: Windows XP, Vista, 7
If your video conversion needs are complex, and only the most powerful tool will do, then start by downloading a copy of MediaCoder 2011 - it's packed with functions and features.
The program doesn't just import all the main video formats, for instance: it can also download streaming videos, read CDs and DVDs, connect to video capture devices, and more.
In-depth editing options then allow you to trim and crop your footage; tweak levels, brightness, contrast, saturation, hue and gamma; and apply filters to deinterlace, denoise, deblock, dering and otherwise enhance your footage.
You can then output to all the usual video formats. And not just using whatever settings the developer thought best. MediaCoder gives you access to an incredible number of options, probably more than you ever realised existed (the Advanced XviD section currently contains 39 settings all on its own).
And smart optimisations, along with support for CUDA and Intel video acceleration technologies, helps to ensure that MediaCoder delivers the best possible performance. It was the fastest in our tests by a large margin.
With all this power comes a degree of complexity, unsurprisingly. The author has tried to combat this by providing a wizard and some simplified device-specific interfaces to help configure MediaCoder's key settings, but it's still trickier to use than most of the competition.
If you'll use the program's extra power, though, don't let that put you off. It doesn't take too long to master the MediaCoder basics, and your efforts will be handsomely rewarded by its powerful features, extreme configurability and great performance.
And if you must have something simpler, check out the program's website: there are simpler, more specialised versions of MediaCoder (for Apple devices, say, or mobile phones) which deliver similar performance but are much easier to use.
We liked
Wide input format support, powerful editing, vast range of conversion settings and tweaks, excellent performance, straightforward configuration wizard
We disliked
Interface can be intimidating, relatively complex to use
9. Miro Video Converter 2.5
Compatible with: Windows XP, Vista, 7
Throughout these tests we've been giving extra marks to programs which allow us to tweak the video conversion process, change various advanced settings to produce the precise results we need. But if you don't care about any of that, and just want the easiest conversion tool you can find, then Miro could be interesting.
The program really is very simple to use. All you have to do is drag and drop a file onto it (all the major formats are supported), choose an output preset (Apple and Android devices are covered, along with the PSP and basic MP4/ WebM/ Theora options) click Convert, and that's it: Miro will begin converting your movie right away.
This simplicity does mean the program has plenty of limitations, though. You can't tweak the resolution or frame rate, for example. There's no talk of codecs here, no editor, no configurable sample or bit rates. You can't add additional presets for your own devices.
It's not even possible to process more than one file at a time, so if you've ten files to convert then you'll have to drag and drop them individually.
Still, conversion speeds proved acceptable, with the program ranking fourth out of twelve in our MP4 export test. And so, if you occasionally need to convert a single video to play on your iPad, say, then Miro will get the job done fairly quickly and with the absolute minimum of hassle.
If you'd like wider format support, more (or any) conversion tweaks and a few video editing options, though, then move along to the next program: you won't find any of those items here.
We liked
good input format support, drag and drop simplicity, above average MP4 export performance
We disliked
no configuration options at all, no editing tools, very few output formats, can't add new presets
//score//
58%
10. Quick Media Converter HD 4.5.0.0
Compatible with: Windows XP, Vista, 7
Quick Media Converter HD does its best to create a good first impression by opening in an "Easy Mode", with minimal conversion options and plenty of bright, colourful icons. But it's not long before you realise that "Easy Mode" isn't really so easy, at all.
The program tells you to drag and drop your input videos, for instance, but that didn't work for us. Many of the presets are confusing, basic and inconsistent. And while "Easy Mode" includes resizing and "bit rate select" buttons, most of the time they don't work, either.
Switching to HD Mode is a little better, in that you can choose from some common target HD resolutions.
But then Expert Mode introduces new problems, in that it allows you to create all kinds of impossible combinations (like converting videos to GIF files using the H264 codec). Presumably they're hoping experts will choose more sensibly, but a little help from the interface would still be welcome.
And other interface irritations include the horribly basic integrated video player, which doesn't have a progress bar, so you can only play clips from the beginning - there's no option to jump ahead.
Still, at least Quick Media Converter HD uses FFmpeg to convert your files, so we thought conversion performance would be acceptable. But no, it turned out the program wasn't great here, either. It did reasonably well on our small file tests, but when converting HD files Quick Media Converter HD was clearly outperformed by most of the competition.
So whether you want simplicity, advanced controls or reliably speedy conversions, Quick Media Converter HD just doesn't deliver - give the program a miss.
We liked
Colourful interface, multiple operating modes, lots of device presets, reasonable SD encoding performance
We disliked
Poorly designed, often confusing and difficult to use, feeble video player, below average HD conversion speeds
11. SUPER 2011.49
Compatible with: Windows 2000, XP, Vista, 7
While many video conversion tools try to hide their more involved settings, SUPER displays them up front, cramming its opening screen with more options than some of the competition have in total. And that can be a little intimidating, if you're a transcoding novice.
In reality, though, the settings are sensibly grouped, leading you through the various options you need to take: choose an output file format, a video and audio codec, select a resolution, frame and bit rates, and so on. You're able to drag and drop a bunch of files onto the program, and with a single click SUPER will then try to process them all.
Whether it'll succeed is another matter. SUPER uses popular tools like FFmpeg to handle the conversions, so they really ought to be reliable, but it did give us errors on some conversions (and we've no idea why).
The real problem here is the horrible performance, though, particularly in the HD conversion tests, where SUPER trailed way behind everyone else. (Putting this into perspective, MediaCoder was more than 17 times faster in our MOV > MP4 benchmark.)
It's a shame, because SUPER does have lots of interesting features: it can import streaming videos (rtsp, mms, http), understands playlists (asx, m3u, pls, wmx), and includes many advanced configuration options. In our view that's not enough to make up for the dire performance, though, and so you'll be better off looking elsewhere.
We liked
Imports streaming videos, lots of advanced configuration options, supports plenty of input and output formats
We disliked
Interface isn't the best, poor performance, various quirks and irritations
12. XMedia Recode 3.0.6.0
Compatible with: Windows XP, Vista, 7
XMedia Recode made a good impression from the moment we launched it, thanks to a clear and well-designed interface which for the most part works just as you'd expect.
Here's a box for your input files, for instance, and of course you can drag and drop whatever videos you like there. If your needs are simple then you can get by with just choosing an output format or device profile from the huge selection on offer. And if you need more, then the program organises more advanced conversion tweaks under various tabs so they're easy to find.
It's true, some of these are, well a little obscure ("Offset between I and P-frame Quants"). But there are plenty of more accessible settings here, too, with options to help you resize, crop, colour correct, deblock, denoise, deinterlace, sharpen and otherwise improve your source footage. It's an impressive package.
One small issue is that your list of imported videos can't be converted directly. You must set up the output format you need, select the files and choose the "Add Job" option before the Encode button becomes available, which isn't immediately obvious. The program doesn't have any English language help, either, so if you don't understand something then you're out of luck. And HD encoding performance was below average.
Conversion speeds in our other tests proved more acceptable, though, and the mix of powerful functionality with an easy-to-use interface gives XMedia Recode a lot of appeal. If you're a mid-level user who needs access to advanced conversion tweaks, but only occasionally, then this could be the ideal solution.
We liked
clear interface, vast array of device profiles, wide file format support, many useful filters/ editing options/ advanced configuration tweaks
We disliked
No English language help, below average performance in our HD AVI > WMV test
Conclusion
Which is the best video conversion tool, then? What our tests reveal is there's no one package which will suit every need, and the best program for you will depend very much on your requirements.
If you just want to convert the occasional video to play on a mobile device, for instance, and don't want any conversion complexities at all, then Miro should appeal. Drag and drop a file, choose your device, click a button and that's it: there's nothing quite as simple here, and its MP4 creation performance isn't bad, either.
Most people will want more power and configuration options, though, and the best all-round combination of power and ease of use is to be found in Freemake Video Converter, our pick for the novice and casual video conversion user. The interface is clean and well designed, it supports lots of input and output formats, there are useful extras, and while performance isn't the best, it's perfectly acceptable.
If you need more control over your output video, though, the next step up is XMedia Recode. Performance isn't so great, but the program makes a host of advanced settings available, while an excellent interface ensures it remains generally easy to use.
Our highest score has to go to MediaCoder, though. It's more complex than the other tools here, but if you're a confident PC user then you'll quickly master the basics. And what you'll get in return is access to more video conversion tweaks than you ever knew existed, and performance which effortlessly outstrips the competition in just about every department: it really is a staggeringly powerful tool.
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TechCrunch »
According to a new report from managed enterprise mobility provider Good Technology, iOS devices (iPhones and iPads) hold the top three spots in the list of the top 10 enterprise activations by device type. The report includes data gathered by Good for Q4 2011 and includes half of the Fortune 100, providing insight into enterprise activation trends among some of the world’s biggest businesses.
The company found that despite Android’s overall market share growth and steady absolute growth among Good’s customers, only 35% of all smartphone activations were on Android, compared with iPhone’s 65%.
The mid-October release of the iPhone 4S helped that particular device quickly earn the number one position on the top 10 enterprise activations list, with the iPhone 4 moving into spot #2. The iPad 2, meanwhile, claimed the third position.
Since there are far more Android devices than iPhone models, it’s not as fair to compare trends on a device-by-device basis. After all, there’s aren’t just a couple models of Android phones out there – there are dozens upon dozens of “top” (popular) devices.
However, even when looked at as a whole, Android activations accounted for just 35% of the smartphone activations and only 6% of tablet activations. The Samsung Galaxy S II was the top Android device at spot #6 and was followed by the Motorola Droid Bionic, the Motorola Droid 3, Sprint EVO 4G (Q3′s most popular Android device) and the Motorola Droid X2. Motorola phones were popular over the course of the past year, too, and were represented in the top 10 each quarter.
Good does note that iPhone activations had slowed in the previous quarter, in anticipation of the new iPhone, then jumped significantly after its launch, with 31% of smartphone activations from that device alone. But collectively, iOS devices accounted for over 70% of all activations in Q4, an indication that enterprise customers’ iOS preference wasn’t just being boosted by the iPhone 4S launch. iOS is the preferred choice in the enterprise, Good says.
On the tablet front, iOS’s domination is even more apparent – the iPad and iPad 2 account for 94% of the total tablet activations in Q4, compared with 6% for Android tablets, where the Galaxy Tab leads the pack. iPads were most popular in three industries: financial services (accounting for 42% for the quarter), business/professional services and life sciences.
Going into Q1 and Q2, Good says that it expects iPad and iPad 2 activations to slow heading into March, as customers prepare for the (rumored) launch of the iPad 3. It also expects Android activations to increase on a relative basis after the immediate impact of the iPhone 4S lessens and as BYOD (bring your own device) programs become more common.
However, says John Herrema, Senior Vice President of Corporate Strategy at Good, the company expects the iOS/Android numbers to be roughly the same during the first half of 2012 as they are now. A change would require a major shift in tablet trends. “I don’t see that happening with the iPad 3 on the horizon,” says Herrema.
“If Android and iOS split smartphone [market share] or even if Android takes the overall smartphone lead, it would still likely be no more than 40% of all Good activations overall, given the dominance of Apple on tablets and the large numbers of tablets we are activating. Meanwhile, I don’t see Android dropping substantially below where it is now because that would require major shift among BYOD smartphone users.”
We should note that this report does not look at RIM devices or Windows Phone, as Good doesn’t have insight into these platforms. This is only a comparison between the iOS/Android adoption rates in the enterprise, which by itself, limits itself to enterprise environments where BlackBerry has already fallen from favor.
TechCrunch »
An iPhone case from Nissan? As you can imagine, it would make no sense for the automaker to develop an ordinary case, and the so-called Nissan Scratch Shield iPhone Case is actually special. According to the company, it’s the world’s first “self-healing” iPhone cover: in other words, it quickly fixes (fine) scratches by itself.
Nissan says they used their self-healing paint finish originally developed for vehicles for the case, which is made from light weight ABS plastic. Scratch Shield as a paint technology has been used in various Nissan cars since 2005, before Nissan teamed up with the University of Tokyo and Japan-based Advanced Softmaterials [JP] to create the case.
Nissan explains:
The outer ‘paint’ is made from polyrotaxane, which means that when damage occurs to the coating in the form of a fine scratch, the chemical structure is able to react to change back to its original shape and fill the gap – ‘healing’ the blemish.
The company distributed a number of prototype iPhone cases to journalists and “customers” and might commercialize the product later this year. Mobile carrier Docomo is already offering the NEC N-03B, a feature phone using Scratch Shield, on the Japanese market.
Via Penn Olson
TechCrunch »
According to a new report from research firm NPD, iOS’s U.S. market share (by sales) jumped from 26% in the third quarter of 2011 to 43% by October and November. Android, however, came out on top, with 47% market share during those two months, down from 60% in Q3.
Says NPD, over the course of 2011, the smartphone battle saw iOS and Android distancing themselves from the competition, turning it into “a two-horse race.”
Overall, smartphone sales continue to grow, NPD says, and accounted for two out of every three handsets sold in October/November 2011. For comparison purposes, that’s up from 50% in Q4 2010.
In addition, nine of the top ten phones sold in Oct/Nov are smartphones, with Samsung, HTC and Motorla each having at least one smartphone listed in NPD’s top ten. Apple’s phones are on the top of the list, with the iPhone 4S in the number one spot and the iPhone 4 still doing well in the #2 position.
It’s clear that iOS and Android are dominating the market here, as former leader RIM’s sales tanked from over 20% in Q3 2010 to just 6% in October/November 2011.
We recently got a glimpse of the extent of iOS and Android’s growing popularity, when a previous report from mobile analytics firm Flurry from December had confirmed the massive gains those platforms were making over the 2011 holiday season. The firm found that 6.8 million Android and iOS devices were activated on Christmas Day alone. That was up 353% from the 1.5 million activations a day over the first 20 days of December. It also set a new record: Christmas 2010 had only seen 2.8 activations, Flurry said.
We’ve also been watching Android’s steep market share climbs based on activations – Google’s Andy Rubin tweeted in December that there were now more than 700,000 Android phones activated every single day, which is up from 500,000 activations per day last June. Mobile analyst Horace Dediu at Asymco then estimated that the total cumulative number of Android devices activated so far is between 224 million and 253 million. To compare, last October, Apple announced a cumulative total of 250 million iOS devices sold (including iPods and iPads).
For what it’s worth, research firm Chitika was also reporting today that Android was leading in market share with a 51.6% share versus iOS’s 46.4% share. But this data was based on web impressions from the last week of November and December. That’s not enough data for anything but a quick snapshot of traffic levels during one of the busiest times of the year – holiday activations.
We won’t know for sure how many iPhones Apple is selling until its next earnings report, but thanks to NPD’s new data, we know it’s going to be neck-and-neck.
TechCrunch »
AppRadio has always been a pretty sweet offering from Pioneer, but something important was missing: support for Android. In 2012, however, Pioneer’s new AppRadio 2 platform will support both iPhone 4/4S as well as select Android phones.
It has built-in Bluetooth, which only makes sense in the car, along with two configurable RCA Pre-outs for connecting to aftermarket or OEM amplifiers. The AppRadio 2 also comes with a full 7-inch touchscreen.
The new model will go for $499.
The earlier model of AppRadio will not support Android, but is available with the iPhone 4 and 4S, and has a bit of a smaller screen at just 6.1-inches.
Pioneer is also launching the Advanced App Mode Dev Center, which is a website committed to open communications with developers and for the distribution of the SDK. In layman’s terms, just about anyone can now get access to the SDK to build an app for the AppRadio.
Pioneer is also launching Advanced App Mode, which brings all of the AppRadio apps running on the iPhone under control of the in-dash navigation and DVD receiver models. That means there will be full featured multimedia receiver with both AppRadio and disc playback, offering the highest performance for both platforms.
TechCrunch »
Japan-based accessory maker Sanwa Supply started selling the 400-PRJ011 [JP] in its online store, a DLP micro projector that slides onto an iPhone 4 or iPhone 4S. The device comes with a 2,100mAh battery, which takes about five hours to fully charge and provides enough juice for 2.5 hours of projector usage.
With the projector function turned off, buyers can also use the device to charge their iPhone (it adds 100% to the life of the phone’s battery).
Sanwa says the projector produces images with 640×360 resolution, 1,000:1 contrast ratio, and up to 65 inches in size. The device weighs 103g and also features internal speakers that can be used in addition to those in the iPhone.
Sanwa is selling the 400-PRJ011 for 19,800 Yen (US$260). If you’re interested but live outside Japan, I suggest you contact specialized shopping sites like Flutterscape or the Japan Trend Shop.
TechCrunch »
Have you been wondering which mobile browser is the fastest of late? It would be an understandable thing to pontificate, seeing that Android takes the cake when it comes to LTE support, iOS has the class-leading dual-core A5 chip on its side, and Windows Phone’s IE mobile browser is basically a beast. It’s a worthwhile question, to say the least.
Luckily MyNokiablog noticed a YouTube video uploaded by user 359gsm, in which the iPhone 4S, the Lumia 800, and an iPhone 4 (running iOS 4.3) are put through the ringer. The specific definition of ringer: Browsermark, Speed Reading, Sunspider, Acid3, and HTML5 tests.
Since the headline already spoiled the ending, I don’t feel bad mentioning that the iPhone 4S pretty much wiped the floor with the other two. It only makes sense if you take a look under the hood — the Lumia 800 features a single-core processor compared to the iPhone 4S’s dual-core A5 chip. In some instances, WP7′s IE mobile browser beat out Safari in iOS 4.3 (it’s very unclear why the user tested the iPhone 4 while it was running an older version of iOS).
As RedmondPie notes, real-world testing can be very different. In our review of the Windows Phone 7.5-powered Samsung Focus Flash, I found that it beat out my iPhone 4S a number of times.
(Note: It’s also still very unclear to us what this music about, or why it’s included in this video.)
TechCrunch »
comScore has just released its latest numbers regarding the mobile landscape here in the U.S., finding that Samsung is still the top OEM with a 25.6 percent marketshare, up just .3 percentage points from the three month period ending in August. Meanwhile, Apple’s price drop on the iPhone 4 along with the introduction of the iPhone 4S has taken its share of the market from 9.8 percent to 11.2 percent.
Mind you, this report doesn’t include holiday sales numbers (Galaxy Nexus, included), and as we know thanks to Flurry data, 6.8 million iOS and Android devices were activated on Christmas day. It’s unclear how exactly those activations were split among the two platforms, so there’s no telling if it actually made a difference in market share, but it’s worth considering. These numbers also include feature phones as well as smartphones.
LG (number 2) and Motorola (number 3) both slipped a bit during this time frame, along with last place RIM (which is to be expected, seeing that RIM is doing silly things like getting $1.7 million in PlayBooks stolen at a truck stop).
As far as the mobile OS is concerned, Google still reigns supreme with a 47 percent market share, up from 43.8 percent last period. Apple comes in second, taking its share from 27.3 percent to 28.7 percent, while RIM, Microsoft, and Nokia all slipped this period. Most notably, RIM lost 3.1 percentage points in platform market share, dropping from 19.7 percent in August to 16.6 percent.
TechCrunch »
Facebook has just pushed out version 4.1 of its popular iPhone app. The update includes the ability to view the new profile Timeline, Subscribers, Subscriptions, pop-over notifications, and add people to friend lists. The app feels more responsive, and photos seem to load significantly faster. Facebook launched Timeline globally a few days ago, but initially it could only be accessed from m.facebook.com and Facebook for Android. The update will give plenty of exposure to Timeline, as Facebook for iPhone has 99.5 million monthly active users and 57.6 million daily active users, according to AppData.
Facebook for iPhone 4.1 may have been planned to launch alongside the Android update, but could have been delayed by necessary bug fixes. Its release shows that Facebook isn’t favoring Android mobile development just yet, though its Android app now has more daily active users than its iPhone app. You may only see Timeline through the app if you’ve already opted into the profile redesign via the web. Though Facebook for iPhone 4.1 runs on iPad, Facebook says Timeline access for its dedicated iPad app is coming soon.
In 4.1, notifications, messages, and requests now load in partial-screen popovers rather than separate full screens. These make it easier and faster to return to the previously viewed screen. The reduced load time for photos will make viewing them a less interruptive part of the news feed browsing experience. Facebook has also fixed one of the app’s most annoying bugs, where tapping a photo would accidentally load a different photo from the same album.
By clicking on the Friends button beneath someone’s Timeline cover, you can now add them to friend lists (thanks for the tip, MG). This is especially useful if you accept a new friend request from mobile and want to immediately restrict their access to your content by putting them in a privacy controlled friend list. There’s still no way to edit a friend list directly, though. A Subscribed button on the Timeline also lets you select the types and volume of someone’s posts that you see in the news feed — great for quieting noisy friends. The Android app and mobile site added these features on Thursday.
One change I don’t think helps: to filter the news feed to show only stories from a specific friend list, you now have to choose it from the general menu. Previously, a button above the news feed itself offered speedier access to friend list news feed filters. Also, there’s no access to the Timeline Activity Log yet from the iPhone app or other mobile interfaces, which is important for making sure you’re not sharing anything risqué with the wrong people.
