The best-selling smartphone in the world is no longer an iPhone.

The best-selling smartphone in the world is no longer an iPhone.

New data released on Thursday by market research firm Strategy Analytics finds that Samsung’s Galaxy S III was the world’s top-selling smartphone model in the third quarter this year, displacing Apple’s iPhone for the first time in years.

Samsung announced earlier this week that cumulative Galaxy S III channel sales reached the 30 million unit milestone and according to Strategy Analytics, 18 million of those were shipped in Q3 2012. During the same period, Apple shipped an estimated 16.2 million iPhone 4S handsets, slipping into the No.2 spot for the quarter.

 

“Samsung’s Galaxy S3 smartphone model shipped 18.0 million units worldwide during the third quarter of 2012,” said Strategy Analytics analyst Neil Shah. “The Galaxy S3 captured an impressive 11 percent share of all smartphones shipped globally and it has become the world’s best-selling smartphone model for the first time ever. A large touchscreen design, extensive distribution across dozens of countries, and generous operator subsidies have been among the main causes of the Galaxy S3’s success. Apple shipped an estimated 16.2 million iPhone 4S units worldwide for second place, as consumers temporarily held off purchases in anticipation of a widely expected iPhone 5 upgrade at the end of the quarter.”

Samsung’s time at the top will be short-lived however, as Apple’s iPhone 5 is expected to regain the title to top-selling smartphone in the December quarter. ”Samsung’s Galaxy S3 has proven wildly popular with consumers and operators across North America, Europe and Asia,” Shah’s colleague Neil Mawtson stated. “However, the Galaxy S3’s position as the world’s best-selling smartphone model is likely to be short-lived. The Apple iPhone 5 has gotten off to a solid start already with an estimated 6.0 million units shipped globally during Q3 2012. We expect the new iPhone 5 to out-ship Samsung’s Galaxy S3 in the coming fourth quarter of 2012 and Apple should soon reclaim the title of the world’s most popular smartphone model.”

Exclusive: Microsoft Office for iPhone, iPad, and Android revealed

Microsoft’s Office for iPad, iPhone, and Android is a reality. Although Office Mobile has been rumored and reportedly spotted in the wild, Microsoft has remained persistently quiet about its plans for the product.
Now it sounds like the company will release Office versions for Android and iOS in early 2013.

Office Mobile will debut in the form of free apps that allow Android and iOS users to view Microsoft Office documents on the move. Like the existing SkyDrive and OneNote apps, Office Mobile will require a Microsoft account. On first launch, a Microsoft account will provide access to the basic viewing functionality in the apps. Word, PowerPoint, and Excel documents will all be supported, and edit functionality can be enabled with an Office 365 subscription.

Microsoft will allow iOS users to purchase an Office 365 subscription within the app, or let organizations distribute codes to enable Office Mobile editing for users. The apps will allow for basic editing, but we’re told this won’t go very far in attempting to replace regular full use of a desktop Office version.

It’s real and it’s coming to iOS first

A recent Microsoft press release from the company’s Czech Republic subsidiary revealed that Office Mobile apps for Android and iOS would be made available from March 2013. We understand that Office Mobile for iOS will arrive first in late February or early March, with an Android version due in May.

We reached out to Microsoft for comment on this story and a company spokesperson says “Office will work across Windows Phone, iOS and Android.”

— reposted from http://mobile.theverge.com/2012/11/7/3612422/microsoft-office-mobile-ipad-iphone-android-screenshots

Microsoft ditches Windows Messenger for Skype

Microsoft has announced it intends to “retire” its instant message chat tool and replace it with Skype’s messaging tool.

The news comes 18 months after the software giant announced it was paying $8.5bn (£5.3bn) for the communications software developer.

Microsoft said Windows Live Messenger (WLM) would be turned off by March 2013 worldwide, with the exception of China.

It reflects the firm’s determination to focus its efforts on Skype.

WLM launched in 1999 when it was known as MSN Messenger. Over time, photo delivery, video calls and games were added to the package’s text-based messages.

In 2009, the firm said it had 330 million active users.

Chat ‘cannibalisation’

According to internet analysis firm Comscore, WLM still had more than double the number of Skype’s instant messenger facility at the start of this year and was second only in popularity to Yahoo Messenger.

But the report suggested WLM’s US audience had fallen to 8.3 million unique users, representing a 48% drop year-on-year. By contrast, the number of people using Skype to instant message each other grew over the period.

“When a company has competing products that can result in cannibalisation it’s often better to focus on a single one,” said Brian Blau from the consultancy Gartner.

“Skype’s top-up services offer the chance to monetise its users and Microsoft is also looking towards opportunities in the living room.

Skype is offering a tool to migrate users WLM contacts to its service

“Messenger doesn’t seem like an appropriate communications platform for TVs or the firm’s Xbox console – but Skype does.”

He also noted that the firm had opted to integrate Skype into its new Windows Phone 8 smartphone software, eclipsing the effort to integrate WLM into the message threads of the operating system’ previous version.

To ease the changeover, Microsoft is offering a tool to migrate WLM messenger contacts over.

The risk is that the move encourages users to switch instead to rival platforms such as WhatsApp Messenger, AIM or Google Talk.

But Microsoft is at least partially protected by its tie-up with Facebook last year. Skype video calls are now offered as an extra to the social network’s own instant messaging tool.

Conflicting options for Windows Administrators

It’s approximately 11 years since Windows XP was unveiled, and this week Microsoft was still at it trying to convince users that it’s time to upgrade.

A post on the Windows For Your Business Blog calls on businesses to start XP migrations now.

Microsoft cites the main reason as being that support for XP ends in April 2014, and ‘most new hardware options will likely not support the Windows XP operating system.’

If you run Windows Vista, Microsoft argues that it’s time to ‘start planning’ the move to Windows 8.

As this article points out, it’s not uncommon to hear about people still running XP at work.

But yet, at the same time, Microsoft Corp’s release of Windows 8 on Friday is likely to be a non-event for most companies — and some experts say many may never adopt it.

The system may appear to offer something for everyone: touch-screen functionality for tablet enthusiasts, a slick new interface for the younger set, and multiple versions to make it compatible with traditional desktop PC software.

Many businesses, though, say there is no compelling reason to adopt. Indeed, a large number have yet to make the transition to Windows 7 from Windows XP.

Even as it launches Windows 8, a key priority for Microsoft is to get customers off the decade-old Windows XP — which still runs on 41 percent of the world’s 1.5 billion PCs.

What will happen?   Will businesses stay with the unsupported XP ?  or move to a newer (but not loved) Windows 7?   Or will they jump to Windows 8?  Only time will tell..

The google book suit is over

After seven long years of litigation, Google Inc. and the Association of American Publishers have reached an agreement to settle over the search giant’s book-scanning project, which will allow publishers to choose whether or not they want their books, journals and publications digitized by Google and accessed via its Google Library Project.

The agreement, according to the two companies, acknowledges the rights and interests of copyright holders, so U.S. publishers can choose to remove their books and journals digitized by Google for its Library Project, or choose to keep their publications available.

For those that keep their works online with Google, those publishers will be able to keep a digital copy for their own use and sell their publications via the Google Play marketplace.

But Thursday’s settlement does not affect Google’s current litigation with the Authors Guild.

“Google continues to profit from its use of millions of copyright-protected books without regard to authors’ rights, and our class-action lawsuit on behalf of U.S. authors continues,” Paul Aiken, executive director, Authors Guild said

Google was sued in 2005 by the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers for violating copyright laws, but reached an earlier settlement by agreeing to pay $125 million to people whose copyrighted books have been scanned, and to locate and share revenue with the authors who have yet to come forward.

But critics contended the settlement gave Google an unfair competitive advantage. A federal court agreed, and rejected the earlier settlement.

Followup to the map fiasco

I read a post on Apple.com where the CEO just apologised for the map fiasco:

To our customers,

At Apple, we strive to make world-class products that deliver the best experience possible to our customers. With the launch of our new Maps last week, we fell short on this commitment. We are extremely sorry for the frustration this has caused our customers and we are doing everything we can to make Maps better.

We launched Maps initially with the first version of iOS. As time progressed, we wanted to provide our customers with even better Maps including features such as turn-by-turn directions, voice integration, Flyover and vector-based maps. In order to do this, we had to create a new version of Maps from the ground up.

There are already more than 100 million iOS devices using the new Apple Maps, with more and more joining us every day. In just over a week, iOS users with the new Maps have already searched for nearly half a billion locations. The more our customers use our Maps the better it will get and we greatly appreciate all of the feedback we have received from you.

While we’re improving Maps, you can try alternatives by downloading map apps from the App Store like Bing, MapQuest and Waze, or use Google or Nokia maps by going to their websites and creating an icon on your home screen to their web app.

Everything we do at Apple is aimed at making our products the best in the world. We know that you expect that from us, and we will keep working non-stop until Maps lives up to the same incredibly high standard.

Tim Cook
Apple’s CEO

Interesting to say the least.

I did not expect to hear him suggesting that upset iPhone owners try other mapping applications such as the web version of Google Maps.

Why did Apple ditich Google maps?

Why did Apple ditich Google maps?

I like my iPhone.  I like Google Maps.  I don’t like the fact that they dumped my map app in iOS6 and gave me a replacement I didn’t ask for.  Now, maybe I will learn to like it over time, but that has not happened yet.

Why did they do it?

I read an article this morning linked to from a facebook post  The real issue about Apple maps which claims the following:

The key thing in the maps situation is what this move says about Apple and the kind of company it has become.

As Roger Kay points out on Forbes:

Does Apple care that its naked self interest is showing? Not at all, near as I can tell. Apple has always had disdain for what others think, even — no, especially — customers.

However, for a potential customer on the cusp of deciding whether to buy an Apple or an Android phone, this blatantly dishonorable move — to take away from consumers something that they liked and put in its place a home-grown but inferior substitute — is likely to push them definitively into the Google camp.

But I don’t buy that explanation.  I think this “review” is pretty biased. Yes the maps issue needs to be dealt with and improved.

Sometimes companies have to make decisions that are business based, not driven by customers, it happens.

But I think this guy goes overboard and makes it sound like every decision Apple makes is that way, which I think is wrong.

I am a firm believer in the design aspects of apple and they spend a lot of effort with end users making sure the products work the way people need, and then they just work so well you don’t notice them.

 

I read an alternate theory as well this morning, that I gives the correct answer:

Despite having one more year to the contract,  It turns out the answer is turn-by-turn voice navigation.

It wasn’t a feature in the original Apple-Google licensing agreement, so Apple went back to Google to renegotiate what has become a top-tier feature on Android.

Apple wanted it.  In return, Google wanted increased branding in the maps app and Apple refused)

Or else they required Apple to integrate Lattitude (Google’s FourSquare competitor), to which Apple refused as well.

As a result Apple was forced to seek other sources in order to obtain this feature.

This sounds a lot more plausable to me, so I am picking that answer.

iPhone5 gets a thumbs up from Consumer Reports

Consumer Reports, the influential reviewers’ group that blasted the iPhone 4 for a faulty antenna, on Friday gave Apple Inc’s latest smartphone a thumbs-up despite echoing widespread complaints about its patchy mapping service.

In a review for Reuters, Edwin Chan wrote:

The organization, which in 2010 withheld its recommendation for the iPhone because of spotty reception when the gadget was held in a certain way, said laboratory tests confirmed that the new iPhone 5 ranked among the best smartphones but its mapping function clearly fell short.

Apple’s latest iPhone, sporting a larger 4-inch screen and 4G capability, drew scathing reviews for glaring errors in a new, self-designed mapping service. Chief Executive Tim Cook apologized last week and directed users to rival services run by Google Inc and others.

“Despite the widespread criticism it has received, Apple’s new Maps app… is competent enough, even if it falls short of what’s available for free on many other phones,” reviewer Mike Gikas wrote on the group’s website on Friday.

“As Apple has recently apologized and promised to fix these and other map glitches, we expect the Map app to improve in time,” he wrote

And Mike Gikas went on to say:

“Now that our auto experts have completed their tests, including some carried out some days after the launch, they describe the app as relatively streamlined, and concluded that it generally provides clear guidance, including voice and on-screen directions,” Gikas wrote.

So, it is not all bad news from Apple.  Having said that, I am hearing rumours that there may details about a camera problem emerging…   more on that soon.

Day 30 of 30 (in 30 days of Geek) – Where do you see technology advancing in the next 20 years – and where will you fit in?

Day 30 – Where do you see technology advancing in the next 20 years – and where will you fit in?

I believe the next 20 years will bring a lot of new and exciting technology.  But that is too long to predict what will occur.

• I think HTML5 will finally be here, and the iPhone/Android wars will be over.
• Java will still be in use.  And so will COBOL 🙂
• We should have cool virtual reality glasses by then, or a system that will project as a hologram instead of  requiring a monitor.
• The idea in movies of not needing a keyboard or mouse (and manipulating objects in the holographic projection) seems really cool.  Can they pull it off?  No clue.
• All monitors will be touch screens.  And all glass will be tough like iPhone screens.
• All cars will have integrated technology, a monitor for communication, traffic, GPS and more, instead of a stereo.

Where will I fit in?  I am most happy when I am working with others, communicating and managing.  I am good with technology, and I will stay involved with tech topics, but I do not see myself doing much active development, except as a hobby.  I see myself as a CTO or Business Technology Manager for a large firm in 20 years, somewhere I can focus on strategic planning and guiding others into successful decisions.

That’s it for the 30 Days  of Geek series of blog posts.   I will now move on to some topics in other areas, but it has been fun !

Day 29 of 30 (in 30 days of Geek) – Looking back (at geek life), would you have done anything differently?

Day 29 – Looking back (at geek life), would you have done anything differently?

If I did things differently, I probably would not have met Linda and had 2 wonderful daughters and gotten to New Zealand.

So , I would not want to trade my current life.

Having said that, I did make a few decisions that in hindsight might not have made sense as a young adult.  I spent too much time playing and partying when I was in school.  And I changed majors multiple times.  But I have always loved technology, so in hindsight, going right into the technology sector would have made my live easier.  If I had gone straight into Computer Science for my BS, I probably would have gotten my Masters Degree at Duke or UNC (in Computer Science) and maybe my PhD too.

Instead, I got a more business oriented in my approach, and my Masters Degree is an MPA (Masters of Public Administration) with a concentration in Information Technology, from North Carolina State University.

So, things worked out well, I just took a roundabout way of getting where I am.