Author: Brad Reed

Samsung (005930) just can’t resist teasing us with the Galaxy S IV. The company has posted an image of a silhouetted device on its official Twitter account with a caption that reads, “The countdown for #TheNextBigThing has begun. Who’s ready for the Global Unpacked Event on March 14?” From a design perspective, the image shows a device that looks very similar to the Galaxy S III in terms of shape. In fact, the image teased on Samsung’s Twitter page looks a lot like the leaked images we saw yesterday that were purportedly of the Galaxy S IV, so it wouldn’t be surprising if Samsung sticks with the same design that brought it so much success over the past year.

Yes, a cheaper version of the iPhone could hurt Apple’s (AAPL) margins, but it could also open up several very important markets to Apple products. Asymco’s Horace Dediu looks at data showing how the iPhone’s market share in the United States has continued growing even as Android’s growth has stalled for the moment. He hypothesizes that having older iPhones available at lower prices is helping the device expand its reach to budget-conscious American consumers who don’t need to have the latest device.

Continue reading…

Remember the last time Sony (SNE) had a hit smartphone? That’s a trick question because Sony has never had a hit smartphone. But there’s a first time for everything and unnamed sources have told Digitimes that Sony’s new Xperia Z smartphone has sold out of its initial stock in Japan, France, Germany, Hong Kong and Taiwan. The Digitimes report backs up previous reports we’ve read about showing the Xperia Z selling well not only in Japan and France but in Italy and Spain as well. The Xperia Z’s strong sales are somewhat surprising given Sony’s previous lack of success in the smartphone realm and the fact that Sony launched the device in the same quarter that both HTC (2498) and Samsung (005930) launched flagship Android smartphones of their own.

Although past efforts to give smartphones 3D photo capabilities haven’t exactly captured the public’s imagination, that may not stop Samsung (005930) from giving it another shot. Patent Bolt has found a recent Samsung trademark filing for a logo of a 3D movie and still camera that will appear on future smartphones, tablets, digital cameras and other Samsung products. Because the trademark application was published just last week, Patent Bolt speculates that the new 3D camera will debut alongside the Galaxy S IV at Samsung’s big press event on March 14th. A 3D camera is just one of many new features rumored for the Galaxy S IV, as previous reports suggest that the device will have eye-tracking technology that will let users scroll through pages on their devices without having to physically touch their displays.

The success of Samsung’s (005930) super-large Galaxy Note “phablet” was an important milestone for the company, as it showed that Samsung is capable not just of following industry trends but of starting trends of its own. But now Ars Technica has gotten hold of pictures showing that Apple (AAPL) may have actually been the first company ever to design a “phablet,” albeit not one that’s designed as smartly or stylishly as the Galaxy Note.

Continue reading…

BlackBerry’s (BBRY) app problem is about to get a little less severe. BlackBerry social media manager Alex Kinsella on Thursday posted an update to his Twitter account “predicting” that BlackBerry Z10 users will “be downloading WhatsApp” within the next week. Having WhatsApp on BlackBerry 10 is an important win for the new BlackBerry platform both because of its popularity in emerging markets and because it may help offset the impending loss of unlimited BlackBerry Messenger services in certain key markets. All that said, BlackBerry still has a long way to go when it comes to attracting top apps to its platform, especially in light of Netflix’s (NFLX) confirmation this week that it has no plans to make an app for BlackBerry 10.

One of the most fascinating things about Samsung’s (005930) product launches is how remarkably they contrast with its television marketing campaigns. Samsung’s TV ads, as I’m sure you’ve seen by now, like to portray the company as a scrappy, funny underdog trying to make a name for himself while fighting the humorless, tired old behemoth known as Apple (AAPL). Samsung on television is all about zombie unicorn games, sharing sex videos and making fun of iPhone fans. In other words, it’s clever, irreverent and guaranteed to make you smile.

Continue reading…

Does the world really want a “Facebook (FB) Phone?” Probably not, but that apparently isn’t going to stop HTC (2498) from delivering one. UnwiredView’s evleaks has posted a set of specifications that are purportedly for the HTC Myst, a yet-to-be-announced smartphone that is centered around Facebook. In case you don’t remember, HTC has tried something like this back in 2011 with the ill-fated HTC Status smartphone that had a dedicated Facebook button and that looked like a rejected BlackBerry (BBRY) design concept from around 2006. The HTC Myst will reportedly be somewhat more like a modern smartphone, however, with a 4.3-inch touch display with a resolution of 320 pixels per inch, a MSM8960 dual-core 1.5GHz processor, 1GB of RAM and a 5 megapixel rear-facing camera. While these aren’t exactly high-end specs, it’s unlikely that HTC is going to push the Myst as a premium device, especially since it sold the HTC Status for a mere $50 with a two-year agreement from AT&T (T).

It’s been an annoyingly long wait for American BlackBerry (BBRY) fans, but it looks like they’ll soon be able to upgrade to the BlackBerry Z10. Unnamed sources have told Bloomberg that AT&T (T) will start selling the newest BlackBerry flagship phone on March 22nd, or one week later than earlier rumors had indicated. It’s unclear whether AT&T will be the first American carrier to offer the Z10 since T-Mobile has said that it would start offering the device sometime in mid-March and we haven’t yet heard when Verizon (VZ) will start selling it. Sprint (S) is the only major American carrier to announce that it won’t be selling the Z10 and will instead only sell the QWERTY keyboard-enabled Q10.

Anyone who wants their next iPhone to have wireless charging capabilities may be out of luck. 9to5Mac on Friday shot down a Digitimes report claiming that Apple (AAPL) is looking to bring wireless charging to its next-generation iPhone 5S. The reason that this rumor is unlikely, 9to5Mac says, is that “we’ve been hearing 2013 is an ‘S’ year for the iPhone which implies minor design changes” and “the design changes to the aluminum shell to make wireless charging possible would need to be significant,” thus making it unlikely that Apple would pursue them during this particular product cycle. Needless to say, if Samsung’s (005930) upcoming Galaxy S IV has wireless charging and the iPhone 5S does not, we expect them to make fun of Apple yet again for allegedly being behind the times.

Even though Windows Phone has shown little signs of momentum in recent months, that doesn’t mean Nokia (NOK) isn’t still obligated to pay Microsoft (MSFT) hundreds of millions of dollars in licensing fees. Per ZDNet, Nokia disclosed on Thursday that the fees it pays to Microsoft over the remainder of its licensing agreement will be €500 million — or roughly $650 million — more than the platform support payments that it’s slated to receive from Microsoft. The good news for Nokia is that the total platform support fees that it has either already received or is due to receive from Microsoft are still projected to exceed the licensing fees over the course of the entire deal, so Windows Phone won’t likely be a net money loser for the company.