Author: Brad Reed

Apple plans to triple retail presence in India amid speculation of a cheaper iPhone

Apple (AAPL) looks like it’s making a more aggressive push into emerging markets as The Economic Times reports that the company will triple the number of exclusive stores in India by 2015. Exclusive Apple stores are different from the iconic company-owned Apple stores that we typically see in the United States in that they’re third-party franchises that only sell Apple products. All the same, The Economic Times says that Apple wants to have 200 exclusive franchises up and running in India over the next two years and is also planning “to expand its presence in multi-brand stores” as well. The move to bolster its retail presence in India comes amid speculation that Apple will release a budget version of its iPhone sometime this year to appeal to consumers in emerging markets such as China and India.

March 26, 2013
iPhone 5, iPad mini help Apple close gap with Samsung in total connected device shipments

Samsung (005930) is still the world’s leader in smartphone, tablet and PC shipments, but two recent big-name product launches are helping Apple (AAPL) quickly close the gap. IDC’s latest data on “smart connected device” shipments — that is, total shipments for PCs, tablets and smartphones — show that Apple accounted for 20.3% of all shipments in the fourth quarter of 2012, just below Samsung’s 21.2% share of total shipments. IDC says that Apple’s surge resulted from a “combination of Apple’s iPhone 5 and iPad mini,” which shouldn’t be surprising given that most reports have shown both are selling very well. The big question is how long Apple will keep pace with Samsung once the company releases the Galaxy S 4 next month, especially since Samsung has reportedly set a lofty goal of selling 100 million units of its new flagship smartphone.

March 26, 2013
Microsoft Build developer conference to kick off on June 26th in San Francisco

Google (GOOG) has Google I/O, Apple (AAPL) has WWDC and Microsoft (MSFT) has its Build conference to attract developers who have either developed or are interested in developing apps for its platforms. Microsoft on Tuesday announced that this year’s Build conference would be held from June 26th through June 28th in San Francisco, with registration set to begin on April 2nd at 9:00 a.m. PDT. This will be Microsoft’s first developer conference since the launch of Windows 8 last fall and will likely feature a good deal of new information on the next-generation Windows Blue platform that’s being designed to offer improvements on Microsoft’s first-generation touch-based PC operating system.

March 26, 2013
T-Mobile’s ‘UNcarrier’ initiative is gimmicky but still an improvement from the status quo

Just as you should always be especially wary of politicians who run for office by claiming that they aren’t politicians, so too should you be wary of profit-seeking companies who claim that they’re not only after your wallet. I mention this particular public relations technique because it happens to be the same strategy that T-Mobile is employing with its “UNcarrier” initiative, a clever attempt to rebrand the company as a consumer-friendly alternative to the twin evil empires of Verizon (VZ) and AT&T (T).

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March 26, 2013
Galaxy S4 coming to T-Mobile May 1st for $99 up front

T-Mobile is still handing out goodies to its customers and has announced that it will begin selling Samsung’s (005930) highly anticipated Galaxy S 4 smartphone starting on May 1st for just $99 up front along with subsequent payments of $20 per month over a 20-month period. The aggressive up-front pricing for high-end smartphones such as the Galaxy S 4 and the iPhone 5 is part of T-Mobile’s campaign to eliminate service contracts and brand itself as the less restrictive “un-carrier.” In addition to the Galaxy S 4, T-Mobile also said it would be selling the Galaxy Note II, the HTC (2498) One and the BlackBerry (BBRY) Z10 for $99 up front and 20 months of $20 monthly payments.

March 26, 2013
T-Mobile launches LTE network in 7 major markets

T-Mobile fans haven’t just had to wait longer for the iPhone — they’ve had to wait longer for LTE service as well. T-Mobile on Tuesday began to rectify this, however, by officially launching its LTE network in Baltimore, Houston, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Phoenix, San Jose and Washington, D.C. The carrier says that its “advanced 4G LTE network is expected to reach 100 million Americans by midyear and 200 million by the end of 2013.” T-Mobile’s efforts to bring its LTE services throughout the United States will get an even bigger boost next month if shareholders for MetroPCS (PCS) sign off on a merger between the two carriers that will give T-Mobile significantly more LTE coverage. T-Mobile’s press release on the LTE launch is posted below.

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March 26, 2013
T-Mobile to sell the iPhone 5 for $99 on April 12th

Long-suffering T-Mobile customers rejoice — you can finally buy the iPhone 5 from your favorite carrier. T-Mobile on Tuesday announced that it would start selling Apple’s (AAPL) popular iPhone 5 for just $99 starting on April 12th. While there’s no standard two-year service agreement, you will have to pay T-Mobile an extra $20 over a 20-month span to fully pay off the cost of the device. At the same time, such gradual payments should prove to be very attractive to customers especially since they’re letting you pay less up front. Customers also have the option of paying the full price for the device up front and not paying T-Mobile any extra fees afterward. T-Mobile’s full press release is posted below.

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March 26, 2013
Leaked Windows Blue build points to desktop mode being ‘eased out’

One comfort for Windows 8 users has been the ability to switch out from the tiled interface to the standard desktop mode, but the recently leaked build of Windows Blue shows that Microsoft (MSFT) may be phasing out that security blanket in the future as well. Paul Thurrott’s Windows Super Site has found that the Windows Blue build adds “a ton of new settings” to its PC settings tile “that were previously only available in the desktop-based Control Panel interface.” Thurrott says that by moving desktop functionalities to the tiled interface, Microsoft is gradually trying to nudge users away from desktop mode and thus pave the way for a Windows 9 operating system that “potentially” comes with no desktop mode intact.

March 26, 2013
Apple buys indoor mapping company in latest bid to improve iOS Maps

Apple (AAPL) is still plugging away in its efforts to improve its widely panned iOS Maps application and on Monday it paid an estimated $20 million to acquire indoor mapping company WifiSLAM. The Wall Street Journal reports that WifiSLAM “has developed ways for mobile apps to detect a phone user’s location in a building using Wi-Fi signals” and “has been offering the technology to application developers for indoor mapping and new types of retail and social networking apps.” An Apple spokesperson wouldn’t tell the Journal why Apple had acquired the company and only said that it “buys smaller technology companies from time to time.”

March 26, 2013
FAA may finally let customers use laptops and tablets during takeoff and landing

In a move that will be welcome to all tech-savvy frequent fliers, the Federal Aviation Administration may finally loosen its rules on using electronic devices during flight takeoffs and landings. The New York Times reports that the FAA plans to allow fliers to use their laptops and tablets while set to “airplane mode” at during the takeoff and landing process by the end of the year. This doesn’t give fliers carte blanche to keep all their devices on throughout the whole flight, however, since the FAA would keep its current rules in place for cellphones and smartphones. News of a potential rule change comes just over a year after the FAA promised to give revising its in-flight electronics rules “a fresh look.” Outgoing Federal Communications Commission chairman Julius Genachowski late last year urged the FAA to step up their efforts to change the rules and said that the agency should “enable greater use of tablets, e-readers, and other portable devices” on flights.

March 25, 2013
Google using ‘white spaces’ spectrum to deliver Wi-Fi to South African schools

We’ve already seen the potential to deploy so-called “Super Wi-Fi” networks over white spaces spectrum in the United States and now Google (GOOG) is working to use the same technology to deliver Internet connectivity to ten schools in South Africa. The Verge reports that “launching the test network is Google’s most direct effort yet to demonstrate the potential of white spaces… as a means of delivering faster internet connectivity to the developing world and other rural areas.” For those unfamiliar with spectrum jargon, “white spaces” are bands of unused television spectrum that let signals travel farther and penetrate more deeply into buildings than the standard 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi spectrum bands. In the United States, the Federal Communications Commission first authorized the spectrum for unlicensed use on wireless devices back in 2008.

March 25, 2013
Leaked Windows Blue screenshots show smaller icons but still no Start button

Microsoft’s (MSFT) next major Windows update will be crucial for the company because it will show how well it has listened to feedback provided by Windows 8 users who may have found the touch-centric operating system difficult to use at first. The Verge this week got the opportunity to do a hands-on preview with an early version of the upcoming Windows Blue operating system and found that Microsoft has made some important changes to the user interface that should help users make an easier transition from the more traditional desktop version of Windows.

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March 25, 2013
HTC marketing chief plans ‘loud’ campaign to boost HTC innovations, bash Samsung

HTC (2498) is tired of being “quietly brilliant” and now wants to make some noise. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, new HTC chief marketing officer Benjamin Ho said that his company in the past hadn’t “been loud enough” in promoting its own innovations and promised to take a bolder approach that would attract more attention to the company’s products. As the Journal notes, part of the campaign will involve fighting dirty against its rivals — for example, we’ve already seen how HTC has started publicly bashing Samsung (005930) and its Galaxy S 4 smartphone, which the company’s official Twitter account described as “the next big flop.” Additionally, the Journal reports that Ho plans on “increasing the digital marketing budget for the company by 250% this year compared with 2012, and increasing traditional media marketing spending by 100%.” Which is to say, expect to hear a lot more from HTC in the coming months.

March 25, 2013
We’ll be live from T-Mobile’s ‘UNcarrier’ event tomorrow at 11:00AM!

T-Mobile will start off a major re-branding effort on Tuesday and we’ll be there to cover it live and give you all the details. Among other things, we expect T-Mobile to provide details of its no-contract smartphone plans, deliver a progress report on its impending LTE launch and maybe even give us the scoop on when we can expect to see the iPhone available on its network. The no-contract plans are the centerpiece of T-Mobile’s efforts to make itself the “uncarrier” that doesn’t tie users down to long-term deals and lets them decide from month to month whether they want to stick with the service. The one downside of this, of course, is that the carrier has also eliminated its smartphone subsidy program so users will have to pay full price for their devices going forward.

Bookmark this link, which will go live shortly before the event begins tomorrow, and make sure to head there for our live coverage of T-Mobile’s press conference! Coverage will begin just before 11:00 a.m. EDT / 8:00 a.m. PDT.

March 25, 2013
BlackBerry Z10 sales said to have ‘dramatically slowed’ with Galaxy S 4 on the way

BlackBerry (BBRY) had a very short time to enjoy the spotlight this winter before the Galaxy S 4 tap danced onto the scene and now it seems that the company’s momentum has slowed in the wake of Samsung’s launch extravaganza earlier this month. Barron’s points us to a new research note from Citigroup analyst Jim Suva, who says that BlackBerry Z10 sales have “dramatically slowed” after an initial “honeymoon” and that carriers “have already shifted promotions to other products (Samsung) and moved the Z10 to less favorable in store locations.”

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March 25, 2013
Shrinking gross margins projected to take big bite out of Apple’s income

Apple (AAPL) is certainly a long way from being doomed but that doesn’t mean the company is still firing on all cylinders like it’s done for most of the last decade. Case in point: Fortune has surveyed several Apple analysts and all of them expect the company’s next quarterly earnings report to show a decline in income compared to the same quarter last year. Granted, Apple’s second-quarter earnings last year delivered a hard-to-match $12.30 earnings per share, but the projected decline to the $10 range would still mark the first time since 2003 that the company has posted a year-over-year decline in earnings.

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March 25, 2013
America’s top copyright cop wants to make it a felony to stream songs without permission

Owners of websites that stream music and videos without the permission of copyright holders could soon be prosecuted as felons if Congress passes a new proposal from United States Register of Copyrights Maria Pallante. The Hill reports that Pallante is urging Congress to make illegal content streaming a felony that’s on par with illegally making copyrighted content available for download. Pallante said that “there is a gap in the law” between content streaming and more traditional content piracy while contending that going after content streamers for misdemeanors wasn’t enough to dissuade them.

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March 22, 2013
Microsoft working to bring improved voice recognition to its mobile Bing app [video]

Microsoft (MSFT) may be a bit behind Google (GOOG) and Apple (AAPL) when it comes to creating a voice-enabled personal assistant for its mobile devices, but it seems the company does have plans to add better speech recognition capabilities to its Bing mobile app in the near future. MSFTKitchen has posted a video demonstration of a new prototype for voice recognition software on Windows Phone devices that’s intended to show how Microsoft has worked to reduce latency and word recognition errors while improving phones’ ability to accurately hear you in crowded, noisy areas. Unfortunately the demonstrators made no mention of when this software would roll out to Windows Phone users but MSFTKitchen speculates it could come as part of the Windows Blue software update coming later this year. A full video of the demonstration is posted below.

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March 22, 2013
Sprint thanks Genachowski for blocking the AT&T-T-Mobile merger

Wireless carriers and soon-to-be-former Federal Communications Commission chairman Julius Genachowski didn’t always see eye-to-eye, but it seems that at least one carrier will miss seeing him go. Sprint (S) on Friday put out a statement commending Genachowski for his four-year tenure as head of the FCC and made a list of his accomplishments that the company said had made the wireless industry “better off as a result.” At the very top of Sprint’s list was Genachowski’s “decision to block AT&T’s (T) proposed takeover of T-Mobile,” a move that earned him kudos from Sprint CEO Dan Hesse and scorn from AT&T executive Jim Cicconi, who said that the FCC’s decision was “so obviously one-sided that any fair-minded person reading it is left with the clear impression that it is an advocacy piece, and not a considered analysis.”

March 22, 2013
AT&T stores reportedly giving BlackBerry the short shrift at launch

AT&T (T) may be pushing alternatives to the iPhone, but that doesn’t mean one of those alternatives will be BlackBerry (BBRY). The Wall Street Journal reports that two AT&T stores in Manhattan on Friday featured “neither special signs nor floor displays” to highlight BlackBerry’s flagship Z10 smartphone on its first day of availability in the United States. And this apparently wasn’t just a New York problem either, as the Journal reports that an AT&T store in San Francisco didn’t have any sort of display for the Z10 upon opening Friday and only brought out a Z10 for public viewing after a customer asked for it. When the San Francisco store finally did put up a display for the Z10, the Journal says that it was “at a back corner of the store, away from a large sign advertising the iPhone 5.”

March 22, 2013