Samsung now largest cell phone and mobile vendor

Latest research and figures from company Strategy Analytics has shown that Samsung Electronics has now overtaken previous leader Motorola in the 3rd Qtr 2008, now positioned as the biggest mobile and cell phone vendor in the USA.

Samsung's wide range of devices in the cell phone lineup across multiple carriers, technologies and silos were apparently the reasons that have allowed them to leap to the top.

Korean players, Samsung and LG were both winners in terms of latest marketshare stats, giving them 22.4% and 20.5% each in the ball game.

Previous market leader Motorola (led by their impressive Motorola Razr Handset, positioned as the stand out leader since 2004, fell away to now only hold 21.1% from 32.7% only 12 months prior.

Nokia saw its market share drop in the USA to a lowly 8.4%.

The figures suggest overall mobile phone and cell handset sales in the United States went against the world wide forcasts of economic doom and gloom and grew 6.2% from a year ago to 47.4 million phones in the quarter.

Mobile and Cell Phone Sales Compared

Recent Mobile and Cell phone stats show that 303 million cellphones were shipped worldwide in Q3 2008, only increasing by the slight amount of 5% year-on-year. There has been a visible slowdown in shipments to smaller markets - all of which points to the weakest growth rate since way back in 2002. 4 of the major mobile and cell phone players, only grew at single-digit rates or less. Apple was the standout with their iPhone, grabbing a 2% global share. Nokia, Motorola, Sony Ericsson and LG were well below their initial targets, while Apple, RIM and Samsung over achieved on their results.

Mobile and Cell Phone details:

-Nokia shipped 118 million handsets in the quarter, up 5% from the year prior. However it lost market share in every region and continues to miss opportunities in the U.S. where smartphone sales are especially strong.

-Samsung shipped 52 million handset, up 22% from last year. The company’s market share climbed to 17% and volumes increased in North America and Western Europe but were lackluster in emerging markets.

-Sony Ericsson sold 25.7 million handsets in the quarter, which marks a 1% decline.

-Motorola shipped 25.4 million handsets, a painful 32% decline from last year.

-LG shipped 23 million handsets, marking a 17% decline.

Not great news for sure but no surprise, either.

Movaya names new publishers

Movaya (www.movaya.com), a leading mobile commerce service provider, today announced that over 500 publisher and merchant partners have signed up for the company's PlugNPlay and TryNBuy products, enabling these partners to sell mobile content directly to consumers.

"Movaya's technologies are revolutionizing the way consumers discover, browse and download mobile content," said Phil Yerkes, CEO of Movaya. "Rather than relying only on traditional wireless carriers as the prime merchants of mobile content including games and applications, consumers are beginning to discover and download games from all types of online merchants," Yerkes said.

Movaya offers its partners both turnkey and enterprise solutions, allowing merchants to quickly open 'App Stores in a box' for the 99% of mobile phone users that do not have an iPhone. Like both Google and RIM, who are supporting their own unique application stores, Movaya provides its partners with all the tools to build their own mobile application store: catalog of games, billing, distribution and storefront tools.

By partnering with Movaya, online merchants can select from a variety of methods to add mobile games and applications to their current stores. Mobile game publishers, casual game merchants and general video game merchants are currently the early adopters of Movaya's platform.

T Mobile G1

A busy day in the cell and mobile phone arena in the past 24 hours - Google, T-Mobile and HTC have all "officially" confirmed the unleashing of the T-Mobile G1 - capable of handling the Google Android device.

In depth information covering the new release can be found, on the following links moconews. If you want to learn more about the phone and how to get one, check out the new site at www.t-mobileg1.com/

Orders for pre-release are being accepted by phone today and should be ready for collection on or around the 22nd of October at various T-Mobile outlets and online in the U.S. The G1 will cost $179 with a two-year voice and data agreement.

I have been holding off on getting a new phone and if the reviews of the G1 are good, I'll be picking one up. I think this day is a game changer for the mobile world - Apple did a great job educating all of us on the power of a good mobile device but Android will help bring this power to the masses.

Fred Wilson, a well respected NY area Venture Capitalist and a great blogger, had this to say earlier this month:

"They are building a mobile operating system, Android, that is also designed for running web apps in a mobile environment. I think in time, Google's Android will be to the iPhone what Windows was to the Mac. The iPhone laid out many of the killer mobile device innovations, but its a closed device, a closed carrier relationship, and even a closed application store. Android will take all of those good ideas and put them on every device, with every carrier, and in partnership with every app developer. You'd have thought that Apple would have learned the lesson that you can't control the entire ecosystem with the Mac, but they did not."

I couldn't agree more.

Mobile Text Messaging

USA mobile and cell phone customers ranging between the ages of 14 and 30 apparently send up to 20 TXT or text messages each day, compared to only 1 or 2 text messages for older users in the 30 to 43 age group and then only a single SMS or Text Message in the 44 to 64, after leading marketing firm Knowledge Networks conducted a recently survey and audit of texting in the cell and mobile phone arena.

My kids are young so I don't know a lot about daily cellphone usage for teenagers but I was having a conversation with one of my colleagues recently on this subject. He has three boys between 10-15. They all have cellphones and he mentioned that one of them has "probably never" made an outgoing phone call on his cellphone! He will answer the phone if someone calls him but all he does on an outbound basis is text. I knew teenagers loved to text but this data point surprised me. Times are certainly changing.

Gartner: Smart Phone Sales Rising

Gartner Corporation Director Carolina Milanesi recently explained how the growing public - worldwide will quickly increase to around the 190 million smartphones or pda devices this year, which is a staggering jump of 52% in terms of year on year figures.

While mobiles and cell phones are rapidly increasing, staggeringly around the globe. Few can imagine or have predicted how quickly smartphones, or pda devices could have started expanding.

In terms of earnings, 190 million smartphones means around 15%, or $65 billion-worth, of the overall market of 1.28 billion mobile cell devices that should be turned over this year.

In 2012, mobile and cell phone industry experts believe that PDA, Cell and smartphone device turnover and sales will get to possibly 700 million of the total 1.8 billion cell phone handset market; that's 65%, or $200 billion-worth, of the total $312 billion mobile phone market at that time.

Considering the mobile and cell phone operating systems and software from companies such as Symbian, Android, and Linux pushing deeper down into product portfolios," . "Take for instance, the new Apple's iPhone; at this stage it doesn't have a huge sales volume, but it helped stimulate the market. People are rolling into outlets and specifically demanding a PDA or smartphone carrier device, something that wasn't happening in the mobile and cell phone market just a few short years ago.

iPhone 3G Reviews

At least one individual who purchased an iPhone 3G is less than impressed with the new device. So have other iphone 3g reviews;

A lawsuit has been filed against the company by Alabama resident Jessica Alena Smith claiming that the iPhone's 3G performance and reliability has not measured up to what the company claimed in its marketing campaign.

The lawsuit alleges that despite aggressive marketing that the 3G iPhone is "twice as fast for half the price," the much-hyped smartphone is actually much slower than advertised and prone to dropping calls.

"Apple sold these devices on the promise that they were twice as fast as the pre-existing phones and that they would function suitably, or properly, on the 3G network. But, thus far, Apple and the phone have failed to deliver on this promise," Jonathan Kudulis, an attorney with Birmingham, Ala.-based Trimmier Law Firm, told ABCNEWS.com.

Trimmier is the firm representing the Ala.-based plaintiff, Jessica Alena Smith.

Unless Ms. Smith lives in or near Montgomery or Birmingham, Alabama, this should not have come as a surprise to her. If you take a look at AT&T's 3G coverage (3G coverage area pictured in blue above), it is pretty limited in the state of Alabama.

What is more interesting in the article, is all the complaints about dropped calls with the new phone. I know a number of people in Seattle that have purchased it and haven't heard that as a problem. Stay tuned...

NFL on your Sprint Mobile

Large US Cell Phone Carrier Sprint have teamed with the NFL to release the new NFL Mobile Live Service, a cool new appl that that gives Sprint users wireless connection to live radio broadcasts of all 2008 matches plus  8 big time Thursday Night games broadcast via cable television's NFL Network.

Each time users access the NFL Mobile Live app, their favorite team's information will immediately appear onscreen, eliminating clicks by pushing the latest franchise updates and quick links to upcoming live broadcasts.

In addition, NFL Mobile Live enables NFL.com fantasy owners to monitor the performance of every player in real time, delivering game and season cumulative stats, rankings, player profiles, photos and video highlights.

"NFL Mobile Live demonstrates how Sprint brings its Now Network to life," said John Garcia, president of Sprint's wireless division. "With NFL Mobile Live, fans will be able to listen to any NFL game as it happens, watch live streaming action of NFL Network games or check stats of their fantasy players and get updated scores - all from their phones. And they can do this from wherever they happen to be - at their child's soccer game, shopping at the mall or even sneaking a peek while they're raking leaves in the yard."

NFL Mobile Live is included free as part of Sprint's Simply Everything flat-rate package--subscribers may also add Data Packs starting at $15 per month. You can read more info here or text NFL to 7777 to get it now.

Mobile Rewards Coupons

These are the latest reports from the Mobile Cell Phones - Mobile Rewards Coupons Offers:

Congratulations a.sutcliffe@googlemail.com!

According to our records, you may be eligible for £100 in pre-paid mobile phone top up cards. To verify your eligibility, please follow the link below. These pre-paid top up cards are good for any network and the best part is there is no purchase required.

Click here to get started D.

Click here if you can't view the image below.

Nokia 3110c - Handy Phone with Bluetooth

My love affair with Nokia handsets continues. This latest Nokia Mobile Cell phone I am using is the 3110c model phone.

While it's at the entry to mid level for Nokia handsets, it still has bluetooth, 1.3mp camera and a lot of the handy features one expects, including radio. But what I really like about this phone, it's size is compact without being 'too small' and the buttons are quite large and very 'sturdy' to press. It feels like a quality, genuine product.

I've synched it with the Nokia software via Bluetooth to my vista laptop quite easily. Overall an impressive phone with a good price point and even better if on sale.

Nokia N95 missing Microsoft Activesync

I found out today that the Nokia N95 doesn't actually ship with the Microsoft ActiveSync feature and apparently Nokia only release this in their 'E' series or range of handsets which are more aimed at the business (not the standard retail consumer level)

It was a big surprise, as the N95 is certainly a high end phone and out of reach of most average cell phone users.

The other problem I have found with the N95 is the extremely poor battery life. The user is forever recharging due to heavy demands from applications on the N95

LG Prada goes end of line

LG (Lucky Goldstar) has announced one of their flagship phones the LG Prada has gone end of line (EOL) due to poor sales and uptake of their touchscreen phone. Seemingly the earliest form of the iPhone - high price and limited features meant the LG Prada was very highly priced at above $1000 per unit.

Nokia N73 Mobile Cell Phone

The Nokia N73 is a standout in the N-Series from Nokia. Featuring high quality photos and still images from the 3.2 megapixel camera with the N73 - this Carl Zeiss based lens is amazingly clear.

Vivid quality prints are able to be taken with the mobile phone, the Nokia N73 able to capture prints up 8" x 10" or 20cm x 25cm.

Dedicated large keys make using this phone easy, and a slide cover for the camera at the back makes things more durable. Press a single key to review, send, post onto your blog or print. Upload photos directly from the N73 to photo sharing communities such as Flickr, Imageshack or Blogger.com

The screen is a large 2.4" display and allows for pan and zoom effects on the pictures taken.

The N73 also features a built in music player with stereo speakers and the crisp smooth quality is stunning from this small handset.


Also included is the Nokia Music Manager application within the Nokia PC Suite software making transferring of MP3s, ringtones and contacts very easy between PC and phone.

Connecting the Nokia N73 to the PC is simple. Use either; Bluetooth, Infrared or USB cable to sync and mobile internet is always available with this great phone. So using Yahoo! Go your fully covered for anti-virus and spam protection too, saving your money on your internet usage.

Nokia N73 Full Specifications and Tech Specs
116 Grams Weight
262k Color Screen
42MB inbuilt memory
miniSD card is supported up to 2GB
226 minutes talk time
370 hours standby
3.2 Megapixel with autofocus and Carl Zeiss Optics
Secondary Camera VGA
Integrated Flash with Red Eye Reduction
Digital Zoom 20x Still and 8x Video
2 Stage Capture Key
Video Camera CIF, 15fps, Mpeg4
XpressPrint,XpressTransfer,XpressShare
SMS, MMS, email
USB2.0
Bluetooth 2.0
IrDA
OTA provisioning
MP3/AAC/eAAC
3GPP Video Streaming
Java
Logs
MS Word
MS Powerpoint
Excel
PIM (calendar and contacts)


WCDMA 2100 and Edge, GSM

Nokia 2630 Mobile Cell Phone

A small phone in size, the Nokia 2630 is only 9.9mm thick. Heap of features on board this mobile, built in VGA camera with 4x digital zoom and a 128x160TFT color display too.

This new Nokia is set to replace the Nokia 2626 which is now end of line and also features a handy FM radio built in. Users can enjoy MP3 ringtones, pictures and other content via MMS and bluetooth.

Large memory is onboard the Nokia 2630 storing up to 1000 phonebook entries and storage for up to 100 still images or photos. You're still able to sync with your calendar, contacts and other appointments for business use and view them clearly on the phone with large fonts. The bluetooth on board allows for a wireless sync of the phone.

Talktime 6 hours

Standby Time 13 days

Weight: 66 grams

Samsung SGH Z400V

A powerful 3G mobile cell phone, the Samsung SGH Z400V is a slider based phone offering solid reception and clear speech calling. A slim phone, the SGH-Z400V has the latest technology from cellular manufacturer Samsung with the standout being the 2 megapixel camera (2mp) and the fact that this is one of the slimmest cell phones in the market.

This model superseeded the Samsung D500 model and offers the benefits of 3G, EDGE and 144 colours on a QVGA screen. Also has the benefit of a document viewer and flight mode for safe operation in the air.

Software wise, the photo slide option allows you to make very handy slideshows of the pictures and images you have taken on the mobile cell phone.

One of the features we loved is the MOBILE TRACKER. Preventing theft, this software setup with work to recover your phone when lost, it will send an SMS to a predetermined number when the SIM card is changed alerting you to the phones location like a homing device.

Also on board this new Samsung mobile phone is bluetooth, and MicroSD storage.

Take advantage of the video recorder fuction on the Z400v as well as a range of business fuctions. Check out PPT , Excel and Doc files - and also PDF HTML and text files too. 30mb of memory onboard and can handle wireless headset connectivity.

Samsung SGH Z400V Full Specifications and Technical Specs
UMTS
TRIBAND
EDGE
GPRS
2 MP camera (2 megapixel) x4 digital zoom
Additional VGA camera for Video Call
Video Recording and Messaging
Music Player (MP3/AAC/AAC+/e-AAC+)
USB
BLUETOOTH
Document Viewer and Offline Mode

MMS EMAIL JAVA WAP
Call Drop / Connection Vibration and Mobile Tracking Device
Mobile Printing via Bluetooth
30MB storage on phone + MicroSD slot
Voicememo
VoiceMail
Speakerphone
107 grams weight
Talk Time 3.7 hours
Standby time 320h

Sony Ericsson W950i review

I was quite impressed when I received the Sony Ericsson w950i phone today, while it's quite a large design cell phone. It features a large screen and stylus pen and a whopping 4GB internal memory.

While the w950i doesn't feature a camera, the features on offer through the software are very impressive. Sony have packed in all the features of their walkman technology and music lovers will be in heaven. In the box you get a good quality stereo headset and a solid cover to keep the phone safe.

The keypad on the W950i mobile cell phone is very unique, no buttons as such but just raised braille style nibs that let you know which key you are pressing. Weird at first but you do get used to it.

Overall it's a largish phone, but packs heaps of features - music fans will go wild for this one and with it's recent price drop, the sale prices on these Sony Phones are going through the floor.

Nokia 5310 Xpress Music

The Nokia 5310 continues to impress all new users of this small and unique mobile cell phone. One of the slimmest cell phones on the market to support a full 3.5mm stereo headphone jack, it offers ideal features to runners, travellers and music lovers who need the gear but dont want a massive cell phone size in their pocket.

Crystal clear dedicated sound through a special chip provides the clearest production. Bluetooth capable, you get to add the best of headsets and addons to this funky handset.

A true award winning cell phone, the Nokia 5310 will continue to sell in large volume as the 'for sale' sign and 'bargain' or 'wholesale price' signs go up onto shelves in stores and through internet online shop outlets.

Nokia 6680 replacement cover and keyboard

Recently my Nokia 6680 was damaged, as my young daughter broke some of the numbers off the keypay.

Browsing ebay, I purchased a complete replacement cover for the 6680. I received the cover a week later - it was fairly easy to put on, the old cover slipping off easily. The new black colour was unique, certainly different from the majority of blue and light blue 6680 covers around.

The only complaint was the keypad. Both the cover and new keypad looked good, sporting Nokia logos and were quite original looking - however the keypad it quite firm and it causes some misdialing of keys.

So while I recommend aftermarket covers, ensure you are getting a quality keypad that will feel as good as the original.

Nokia 6121

The Nokia 6121 classic brings original styling together with the best features. Strong and sturdy - the phone looks great and performs well. Simple operation with 'demo' mode for new users, you still get 3.5G and easy web browsing with quick music and video downloads. 16 million color screen is available with the Nokia 6121 as is the 2mp camera.

All the features of multimedia operation, the 6121 is a cost effective Nokia with good features to boot.

Nokia N81

The Nokia N81 is a multimedia computer phone WITHOUT the huge size. Slimmed down and nice and compact, the Nokia N81 gives you great quality music, podcasts, 3.5mm audio jacks, 4gb microSD memory and seamless integration to other devices.

Similar to the n-gauge in features, you potrait and landscape views with the Nokia n81 - and world class gaming titles from the best publishers. 16 million color screen, web browser and RSS reader and WLAN support with bluetooth.

Dedicated music keys on the handset, N-Series music player, 5 band equalizer, FM Radio and of course the 3.5mm audio jack which is SO handy.

Nokia 5310 XpressMusic

The Nokia 5310 XpressMusic is a tribute to the Nokia designers and manufactures. This phone is super slim, before turning it on - you're already in love with it. Stylists and people on the move will love this phone.

Nokia have packed in a 2mp camera, 3.5mm stereo AV jack and option for a stack of microSD space up to 4GB.

Its amazing they have packed these features into such a super slim phone. Crystal clear audio make it a great phone for people that enjoy music on the go, at the gym or anywhere. 18 hours extended battery for music, you won't be left short.

With a specificly designed audio 'chip' - this phone gets the closest to iPods and true audio devices. Supports Mp3, eAAC+ and WMA too. Of course you still get bluetooh and the access to the music is by new dedicated keys on the outter case down the side. Very handy.

One of Nokias great designs for 2008 - the Nokia 5310 XpressMusic is a winner.

Nokia N82

The Nokia N82 cell phone has recently been released to the flagship nseries from Nokia mobile phones. Featuring a lot of the advantages of the Nokia N95 - it comes in a much small package that is more compact and boasts much better battery life.

You'll get the carl ziess 5mp camera built in, gps mapping and handy blogging and photo upload to the internet simply and quickly.

A real powerful package at a good price and strongly made. Nokia has taken the nseries to a new level with the design of the Nokia n82.

Nokia n95 vs Nokia n82?

A tough one, overall the features in the n95 still outweigh this new baby brother. However for power and features on the move - its hard to go past the nokia n82.

Nokia N95 Price

The price of the Nokia N95 has dropped recently, coming down from $999 AUD to $899 AUD and this has seen a flurry in new purchases for the flagship Nokia handset. With recent firmware upgrades for the Nokia N95 going mainstream, mobile phone users much like those that use the iPhone are starting to do some customized things with the impressive Nokia handset.

The N95 outshines man other cell phones with it's amazing 5MP camera alone.

Keep your eyes open for more recent price drops for the Nokia N95 making it an attractive phone to purchase with each drop in price.

Blackberry 8100

Got my hands on the blackberry 8100 or the blackberry pearl as it's known the other day. Coming in two colors on offer to the public; red and black are the options. However there is a limited edition white blackberry pearl or "whiteberry" as its known.

Generally only on offer to mobile and cell phone insiders, this phone is sought after and can fetch a bit on the secondhand market. So if you see the white blackberry grab it.

Feature wise it's not too bad, the blackberry 8100 is a compact and sleek design, giving true blackberry options and of course the legendary mobile email. Its the first time the blackberry went compact and dropped the full keyboard, however the give the keyboard access through relettering of the standard mobile phonepad numbers.

While certainly handy after using it for a while, it does take some time to get used to. If you want to send longer emails and want true PDA features, stick to the Blackberry Pearl - as it is worth the extra dollars and size in your pocket.