Other Sites
Smartphone Sales Grew 46.5 Percent in Second Quarter of 2013 and Exceeded Feature Phone Sales for First Time - Gartner
Lenovo, Now World’s Biggest PC Maker, Shifts Focus To Smartphones And Tablets - Targets Apple
Samsung Hits DOUBLE The Market Share Of iPhones
Ovum Says Cloud Is Driving Improved Interactive Single Sign-on And Federated Identity Management
iDelete 1.0 Free for iOS - Shred/Remove Temp Files, Improve Speed/Safety
HOB Introduces HOBLink iWT: an Apple iPad App for Secure Remote Access
Smartphone Sales Grew 46.5 Percent in Second Quarter of 2013 and Exceeded Feature Phone Sales for First Time - Gartner
According to the latest metrics from Gartner Inc., Microsoft has become the No. 3 smartphone OS overtaking BlackBerry as worldwide mobile phone sales to end users totaled 435 million units in the second quarter of 2013, an increase of 3.6 percent from the same period last year. Worldwide smartphone sales to end users reached 225 million units, up 46.5 percent from the second quarter of 2012. Sales of feature phones to end users totaled 210 million units and declined 21 percent year-over-year.
"Smartphones accounted for 51.8 percent of mobile phone sales in the second quarter of 2013, resulting in smartphone sales surpassing feature phone sales for the first time," says Anshul Gupta, principal research analyst at Gartner. "Asia/Pacific, Latin America and Eastern Europe exhibited the highest smartphone growth rates of 74.1 percent, 55.7 percent and 31.6 percent respectively, as smartphone sales grew in all regions."
Samsung maintained the No. 1 position in the global smartphone market, as its share of smartphone sales reached 31.7 percent, up from 29.7 percent in the second quarter of 2012 (see Table 1). Apples smartphone sales reached 32 million units in the second quarter of 2013, up 10.2 percent from a year ago.
In the smartphone operating system (OS) market (see Table 2), Microsoft took over BlackBerry for the first time, taking the No. 3 spot with 3.3 percent market share in the second quarter of 2013. While Microsoft has managed to increase share and volume in the quarter, Microsoft should continue to focus on growing interest from app developers to help grow its appeal among users, said Mr. Gupta. Android continued to increase its lead, garnering 79 percent of the market in the second quarter.
Mobile Phone Vendor Perspective
Samsung: Samsung remained in the No. 1 position in the overall mobile phone market, with sales to end users growing 19 percent in the second quarter of 2013 (see Table 3). We see demand in the premium smartphone market come mainly from the lower end of this segment in the $400-and-below ASP mark. It will be critical for Samsung to step up its game in the mid-tier and also be more aggressive in emerging markets. Innovation cannot be limited to the high end, said Mr. Gupta.
Nokia: Slowing demand of feature phone sales across many markets worldwide, and fierce competition in the smartphone segment, affected Nokias mobile phone sales in the second quarter of 2013. Nokias mobile phone sales totaled 61 million units, down from 83 million units a year ago. Nokias Lumia sales grew 112.7 percent in the second quarter of 2013 thanks to its expanded Lumia portfolio, which now include Lumia 520 and Lumia 720. With the recent announcement of the Lumia 1020, Nokia has built a wide portfolio of devices at multiple price points, which should boost Lumia sales in the second half of 2013, said Mr. Gupta. However, Nokia is facing tough competition from Android devices, especially from regional and Chinese manufacturers which are more aggressive in terms of price points.
Apple: While sales continued to grow, the company faced a significant drop in the ASP of its smartphones. Despite the iPhone 5 being the most popular model, its ASP declined to the lowest figure registered by Apple since the iPhone's launch in 2007. The ASP reduction is due to strong sales of the iPhone 4, which is sold at a strongly discounted price. "While Apple's ASP demonstrates the need for a new flagship model, it is risky for Apple to introduce a new lower-priced model too," said Mr. Gupta. "Although the possible new lower-priced device may be priced similarly to the iPhone 4 at $300 to $400, the potential for cannibalization will be much greater than what is seen today with the iPhone 4. Despite being seen as the less expensive sibling of the flagship product, it would represent a new device with the hype of the marketing associated with it."
Lenovo: Lenovo's mobile phone sales grew 60.6 percent to reach 11 million units in the second quarter of 2013. Lenovo's quarter performance was bolstered by smartphone sales. Its smartphone sales grew 144 percent year-over-year and helped it rise to the No. 4 spot in the worldwide smartphone market for the first time. Lenovo continues to rely heavily on its home market in China, which represents more than 95 percent of its sales. It remains challenging for Lenovo to expand outside China as it has to strengthen its direct channel as well as its relationships with communications service providers.
"With second quarter of 2013 sales broadly on track, we see little need to adjust our expectations for worldwide mobile phone sales forecast to total 1.82 billion units this year. Flagship devices brought to market in time for the holidays, and the continued price reduction of smartphones will drive consumer adoption in the second half of the year," says Mr. Gupta.
Additional information is in the Gartner report "Market Share Analysis: Mobile Phones, Worldwide, 2Q13." The report is available on Gartner's website at:
http://www.gartner.com/document/2573119
Lenovo, Now World’s Biggest PC Maker, Shifts Focus To Smartphones And Tablets - Targets Apple
Quartz'a Heather Timmons reports that China’s Lenovo has just edged out HP for the number one PC maker and reported better-than-expected first-quarter earnings on Thursday, with the company's net income rising 23% year-over-year to $173.9 million and revenues by 9.7% to a record $8.9 billion.
+
The takeaway, MS. Timmins observes, is that the company’s shift from PCs into smartphones is getting results, and with its PC unit shipments down 11% from a year ago, for the first time ever, its smartphone and tablet sales surpassed PC sales during the quarter thanks to an aggressive push in developing markets.
However, Ms. Timmins notes that while Lenovo’s stated goal of unseating Apple in products or profitability remain far-fetched, CEO Yang Yuanqing told Bloomberg (http://goo.gl/C9ZTlY) Thursday he plans to be “proactiv e” about acquisitions sparking speculation that Lenovo could snap up Blackberry, thereby scooping up key patents and boosting its smartphone expansion aspirations.
The Bloomberg report says that Yang Yuanqing is seeking acquisitions as Lenovo weathers a global slump in PC demand by developing mobile devices to lure customers from Apple, and cites analyst Ricky Lai, an at Guotai Junan International Holdings Ltd. in Hong Kong commenting: “The company is transforming itself from PC-based to smartphone- and tablet-based.”
For the full report visit here:
http://goo.gl/JPgwyo
The Bloomberg report is here:
http://goo.gl/C9ZTlY
Samsung Hits DOUBLE The Market Share Of iPhones
The Register's Jack Sargood says not even the cheapest iPhones could help Apple claw back ground lost to Samsung - whose smartphone gear has now amassed more than twice the market share of the iPhone, making the most of the expanding sector, selling 71.3 million devices compared to 45.6 million a year ago, capturing 31.7 percent market share, up two percent.
Apple grew far more modestly and actually lost ground to Samsung.
For the full report visit here:
http://goo.gl/pHii6R
Ovum Says Cloud Is Driving Improved Interactive Single Sign-on And Federated Identity Management
The cloud provides significant problems and opportunities for the identity and access management (IAM) industry, according to global analyst firm Ovum, But it is a disruptive technology that is challenging the status quo within the IAM sector.
New research (1) from the global analyst firm examined the impact of cloud computing and identity-as-a-service (IaaS) on the IAM sector. Traditional platform vendors are coming under pressure from a new generation of cloud-based specialists that are changing the way that IAM services will be consumed in the future.
According to Andrew Kellett, principal analyst for IT security solutions and author of the report, “The increasing use of cloud-based services is driving the need for better and more interactive single sign-on (SSO) and federated identity management (FIM) facilities. For the foreseeable future, organisations will continue to make use of a mixed range of on-premise, hosted and cloud-based systems and services.”
Almost 80% of businesses already make some use of cloud services. Strategic as well as ad hoc adoption of cloud facilities is on the rise. The ad hoc element brings with it the added danger that business and IT could be side-lined if services are brought on stream in an uncoordinated manner by local decision-makers.
“The issue when working with locally sourced services involves what is becoming commonly known as “shadow IT”,” said Kellett. “In some organisations “shadow IT sprawl” is already presenting significant infrastructure, control and security problems. This is because services are often open at the point of delivery, and can allow anyone to sign up and create identities and passwords, while utilising information systems that the organisation does not control.”
On behalf of business organisations, their users, business partners and customers there is an argument being put forward that the only secure and acceptable way to log into business systems, including cloud services, is through an identity management system. Mainstream IAM platform vendors make a strong case for using their facilities to maintain secure access when moving between on-premise systems and cloud-based applications. Some are also reconfiguring their offerings to deliver IAM from the cloud.
“The question is, are they in a position to deliver on their promises? The answer is somewhat mixed because some have well advanced cloud strategies and others are just starting out. However, as with all issues relating to the management of cloud services and identity in the cloud, the maturity is not there, nor can it be,” says Kellett. Business requirements are not clear, and both enterprises and their service providers have work to do to clarify future requirements.
“The cloud remains a source of opportunity for the IAM sector. A new generation of cloud specialists are challenging established approaches to managing identity, and are positioning themselves as offering a more flexible, easier to deploy, and cost-effective approach to managing identity from the cloud. Their ability to operate independently as well as alongside existing IAM providers needs to be tested, as does the range, quality and security of the bridging facilities and application program interfaces (APIs) currently available for delivering access to cloud-based applications,” concludes Kellett.
(*)Cloud: Transforming the IAM Industry by Andrew Kellett
http://goo.gl/lIf5EQ
iDelete 1.0 Free for iOS - Shred/Remove Temp Files, Improve Speed/Safety
ProtectStar has introduced iDelete 1.0 free for iOS, its new utility that scans all memory sectors of any iDevice in search of temporary data that is no longer needed. This unnecessary data is then removed using the military-grade erase algorithms employed in ProtectStar's best-selling app, iShredder 2 Pro. Designed as part of a weekly maintenance routine, the app boosts system speed by freeing memory and prevents recovery of sensitive information in Temp & Junk Files and Cache & Off-Line Files.
Feature Highlights:
(*) Easy performance tuning, by quickly cleaning up temporary data
(*) Based on the best-selling, security app iShredder
(*) Improved speed with more free memory
(*) Modern clean methods for flash memory (SSD)
(*) Permanently delete unnecessary data
(*) Cleaned files are completely beyond recovery, even for experts and government agencies
(*) Friendly technical support by email
Every iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch is continuously moving data in to and out of paged memory as part of its normal operation: running apps, surfing the web, or editing documents, photos and videos. This normal process helps maximize available memory. However, not all temporary files are deleted automatically and correctly. The result is an ever-increasing volume of unused and unprotected data that is occupying valuable memory.
Employing the proprietary technology developed for iShredder, which has been refined over the past two years, iDelete locates all temporary files not in use. The app then employs iShredder's modern and secure erasing methods for flash memory (SSD), ensuring that files are completely beyond recovery, even for experts and government agencies. The process for deleting temporary data can be started with the click of a single button. The clean-up process, which takes 1 to 10 minutes, will then begin safely and automatically. During the clean-up process, the power saving function will dim the backlight, so that there is minimum strain on the battery.
Removes Many Kinds of Unnecessary Files:
(*) Hidden temp files generated by complex calculations and data exchanges
(*) Device cache memory
(*) Corrupt media files produced by iTunes failed syncs
(*) Cookie & script files
(*) Various junk files
(*) Will not endanger data, apps, music, movies, photos, or other useful content on the iDevice
Chris Bohn of ProtectStar comments, "Our industry-standard app, iShredder, is currently in use by government and military agencies worldwide to ensure that trashed files are absolutely unrecoverable. Now, iDelete provides a second level of security and convenience - it ensures that all temporary files are absolutely unrecoverable and no longer taking up memory."
Language Support:
(*) English, Spanish, Japanese, Chinese, German, Italian, French, Russian,
Hindi, Indonesia, Vietnamese, Arabic, and Portuguese
Device Requirements:
(*) iPhone 3GS/4/4S/5, iPod touch (3rd/4th/5th generation), and iPad
(*) Requires iOS 4.3 or later
(*) Universal app optimized for display on all iOS devices
(*) 16.1 MB
iDelete 1.0 is normally $1.99 (USD), but is free for the first week of its release and available worldwide exclusively through the App Store in the Utilities category. Review copies are available on request.
ProtectStar:
http://www.protectstar.com
iDelete 1.0 :
http://www.protectstar.com/en/iDelete.html
Download from iTunes:
https://itunes.apple.com/app/id680643142
Facebook Profile:
http://www.facebook.com/protectstar
Twitter Profile:
http://twitter.com/ProtectStar
Trackback URL:
http://goo.gl/A4OmkR
HOB Introduces HOBLink iWT: an Apple iPad App for Secure Remote Access
HOB, a specialist in pure software-based remote access solutions, has announced the release of HOBLink iWT, a new remote access solution that allows users fast and easy access to centrally stored resources from their Apple iPad. Similar to the well-known and highly appreciated RDP client for desktop PCs and notebooks HOBLink JWT, HOBLink iWT offers the corresponding features and functions particularly optimized for the use with Apple iPads.
HOBLink iWT allows mobile employees to use their iPad to access company resources anytime and anywhere. This enhances business productivity and continuity and helps business build their competitive edge.
As mobile working has become more commonplace, employees are demanding the option to access company data using their preferred device, whether its a tablet, mobile phone, laptop or PC. Meanwhile, enterprises seek to implement mobile workplace tools that ensure the security of company resources. With HOBLink iWT and an Apple iPad secure remote access is possible to Windows Terminal Server (with RDS), VDI systems and desktop PCs.
Security
HOBLink iWT for Apple iPad offers a robust security system with multiple options for low, medium or high security level data encryption. Authentication methods can also be set according to individual needs and preferences. In addition to these options, when HOBLink iWT is combined with HOBs flag ship product, HOB RD VPN, additional security features like SSL encryption become available.
Flexibility
The applications flexibility begins with its intuitive and comfortable work environment that supports a full on-screen Windows PC keyboard and displays data in both landscape and portrait modes. HOBLink iWT allows users to multi-task and be highly productive with the option to have several parallel RDP sessions open. With no additional server components necessary, HOBLink iWT provides additional flexibility for users and administrators alike. HOBLink iWT also offers convenience with the Wake-on-LAN function, which allows users to turn on a desktop PC remotely via the Apple iPad. This convenient feature saves energy costs and supports green IT.
Reliability
HOBLink iWT includes a load balancing function that optimally distributes server requests to the existing hardware. This feature allows resources to be efficiently utilized as it connects the user to the least busy server. With the help of load balancing, over worked and slowly functioning servers are a rare occurrence.
With the mobile workforce rapidly expanding, its essential to accommodate the needs and devices of on-the-go employees, while also ensuring secure access via the Internet, said Klaus Brandstaetter, CEO of HOB. HOBLink iWT allows mobile employees to use their iPad to access company resources anytime and anywhere. This enhances business productivity and continuity and helps business build their competitive edge.
HOBLink iWT is available for free download from the Apple App Store.
For more information, visit:
http://www.hobsoft.com
and on Twitter at:
http://www.twitter.com/HOBsoft
Tags: News ď Tech-Industry ď iPhone ď iPhone News ď
