Samsung’s Galaxy SIII

Industry Analyst Strategy Analytics has released estimates for the size of the Android smartphone market during the first quarter of 2013, declaring that Korean device vendor Samsung captured 95 per cent of profits from Android devices in the period.

Strategy Analytics puts global operating profits from the Android device market at $5.3bn for the quarter, with Samsung accounting for an astonishing $5.1bn of the total. In second place, fellow Korean player LG took three per cent of Android OP. Android itself accounted for 43 per cent of total smarpthone industry operating profit for the quarter, which Strategy Analytics estimated had hit $12.5bn.

“We believe Samsung generates more revenue and profit form the Android platform than Google does,” said Neil Mawston, executive director at Strategy Analytics. Samsung has strong market power and it may use this position to influence the future direction of the Android ecosystem. For example, Samsung could request first or exclusive updates of new software from Android before rival hardware vendors.

Nvidia has announced Project Shield - a portable Android-based gaming device

Much like how Nokia became the largest manufacturer of digital cameras in 2008, when the mobile handset became the primary camera, Google’s Android platform is well on its way to becoming one of the most popular gaming platforms in the world.

There are 189.3 million Android devices forecast to be sold in 2013 alone, according to Informa Telecoms and Media, far surpassing the 153.6 million units of the PlayStation 2 that Sony sold throughout the console’s lifetime.

To bolster this success, chipmaker Nvidia has announced Project Shield, a dedicated portable gaming device, running on the Android platform, wifi-enabled and LTE ready. Project Shield plays both Android and PC titles; giving access to any game on Google Play and streaming games from the Steam library any PC that is powered by Nvidia GeForce GTX GPUs.(Steam owner Valve itself is developing a console, or ‘PC in a box’, in order to drive usage by guaranteeing compatibility for games).

The device has ergonomic controller integrated into it, which Nvidia says offers users more control and precision. It runs on the NVIDIA Tegra 4 CPU. The device can also access Android apps such as Hulu, Netflix and Slacker Radio and has speakers integrated into the device.

“Project Shield was created by Nvidia engineers who love to game and imagined a new way to play,” said Jen-Hsun Huang, co-founder and CEO at Nvidia. “We were inspired by a vision that the rise of mobile and cloud technologies will free us from our boxes, letting us game anywhere, on any screen. We imagined a device that would do for games what the iPod and Kindle have done for music and books, letting us play in a cool new way.”

David Whitby, country manager for the UK and Ireland at mobile games developer Gameloft, said that while touchscreen will continue to be the most widely used interface for mobile gaming, controller-enabled games do represent a compelling opportunity.

“Ultimately from our point of view, the biggest market is always going to be touchscreen devices, because the market for people prepared to invest in a specific device just to play games is very small compared to the global market of people who own mobile gaming-capable devices,” he explained.

However, he admitted that controller-enabled mobile games is an area that is important to the company. The firm has worked with a company to create the Duo Gamer controller, which is a Gameloft-branded Bluetooth game controller and is also working with Moga which makes similar products for Android devices.

“We definitely recognise that one of the biggest limitations of mobile gaming is the interface,” said Whitby. “Usually the biggest criticism people have about what we do and the console experience is that the gaming experience is more streamlined because you have actual buttons. You’ve got that controller sitting in the palm of your hands. We’re working on this at present and it is something we’ll likely be keen to keep working on with the new Nvidia device.”

China is by far Google's largest market for Android devices, according to Informa

Almost two-thirds of the handsets sold in China in 2012 run on the Android OS and China is Google’s largest market for Android devices, according to the latest research from Informa Telecoms & Media. A third of Android handsets sold in 2012 were sold in China, figures from the research firm show.

The country is by far the fastest-growing smartphone market with a year-on-year growth of 85 per cent in 2012 and this growth is being driven by the explosive demand for Android phones.  Of the other major mobile platforms, Apple’s iPhone and Microsoft’s Windows Phone hold minority shares of China’s total handset sales, with around five per cent and one per cent, respectively.

The US is the second-largest market for Android with an 11 per cent of devices sold share. Informa’s research anticipates that at least one in every two mobile phones sold in the US in 2013 will be powered by the platform.

“Despite the economic downturn, the global smartphone market is enjoying healthy growth and consumers are actually spending more to acquire more technologically-advanced devices,” said Malik Saadi, principal analyst at Informa Telecoms & Media.

He added that it is estimated that around 786 million smartphone devices were sold in 2012, which is 45 per cent more than the total number of smartphones sold in 2011.

“Looking forward, Android is expected to continue gaining market share globally and, by 2015, one in every two handsets sold worldwide will be powered by it,” added Saadi. “However, according to Informa Telecoms & Media, the market share of this platform could potentially peak – or even decline – after 2016 owing to a more aggressive penetration of the alternative OSs, most notably Windows Phone.”

Almost 80 per cent of UK android data is carried by wifi

UK Android smartphone users access almost 80 per cent of their mobile data over wifi networks, according to research from Nielsen. In a study of some 1,500 Android users with a metering app installed on their devices, Nielsen found that wifi offload varied considerably depending on the time of day, but averaged 78 per cent.

The practice peaks between 11pm and midnight, Nielsen said, during which time 90 per cent of data transferred to and from participants’ devices was carried over wifi networks. The use of 3G cellular networks peaked just before the beginning of the working day, the firm said, again during the lunch hour and once more during prime commuting time.

Nielsen said that, while cellular network statistics taken in isolation suggest a decrease in mobile data use between 6pm and midnight of 55 per cent, the inclusion of wifi statistics shows an increase of almost 30 per cent.

“Wifi is on average three-and-a-half times more dominant than 3G when it comes to delivering mobile internet data services,” said David Gosen, managing director for digital at Nielsen Europe.  “It peaks around midnight as users gravitate towards social networks, driven by their desire to stay connected through all waking hours.

“Previously, the main insight into the volume of mobile traffic came from the networks’ own records.  Now, with Nielsen Smartphone Analytics we can complete the whole consumer picture.

“The implications for all stakeholders in the industry are enormous in terms of being able to show the total level of demand for mobile data, the drivers of that usage, and how it varies by operator and application type.”

Owners of Google's Nexus 4 tablet will have to make do without LTE

In a surprise move for the industry, smartphone player Google has launched its latest handset, the Nexus 4, without support for LTE. Instead customer will have to make do with HSPA+.

LTE networks are have begun to be widely deployed throughout the world with 35 million active subscribers across the world, nearly 19m of which are in the Google’s home market of the US, according to Informa WCIS stats.

The UK’s first LTE network, running on EE’s 1800MHz network has launched today, while next week sees LTE arrive on Italy’s Telecom Italia.

However, in an interview with US tech site The Verge, Andy Rubin, Google’s senior vice president of Mobile, hinted that concerns over battery life as the reason for the omission of LTE due to the requirement to support multiple networks.

“A lot of the networks that have deployed LTE haven’t scaled completely yet — they’re hybrid networks [...] which means the devices need both radios built into them,” he said. “When we did the Galaxy Nexus with LTE we had to do just that, and it just wasn’t a great user experience.”

The Verge also hints that tough networks access requirements on LTE networks such as Verizon would make offering a compatible phone less appealing for Google. Verizon requires that any device be approved and tested by the network before firmware updates can be pushed to any device running on its network. This would prevent the Nexus 4 from receiving Google’s frequent Android OS updates in a timely fashion, thus negating one of the primary reasons to go for Google’s own-brand unlocked handsets.

The Google Nexus 4 has been launched along side the Nexus 7 and 10 tablets and all run Google latest mobile OS, Android 4.2 Jellybean. The smartphone is manufactured by LG, has a 4.7in display and is powered by a 1.5GHz quad-core processor, which the firm claims is the faster mobile phone processor on the market. It features NFC and a wireless charging dock, two technologies notably absent from Apple’s recently launched iPhone 5.

Google also faces competition from Microsoft, which launched its latest salvo in the fierce smartphone battle with the release of Windows Phone 8, which is due to appear on forthcoming handsets from HTC and Nokia and Samsung.

Google’s head of Americas Business partner division, Adam Massey, will be attending the upcoming LTE North America 2012 conference in Dallas, where he will be discussing how cloud computing, and applications and services have changed the business landscape. Reflecting the massive increase in LTE usage in the US and worldwide, the LTE North America conference has seen a 77 per cent increase in attendance since last year, and nearly 50 per cent of all US carriers will be at the show.

Android handsets held two-thirds of the market share in Europe, according to latest data

The Android platform continues to dominate the European smartphone market, according to the latest data from research house Kantar Worldpanel ComTech. Google’s mobile OS has increased its market share by 20.2 per cent over the past year and now holds two-thirds of the smartphone market.

The popularity of Android handsets has risen steadily in the build up to Apple’s iPhone 5 release, which is expected to be unveiled next week, while Windows has managed to maintain its five per cent share despite a raft of new Windows 8 products being announced. However, Microsoft’s success has been achieved through heavy discounting, according to the research firm.

The US smartphone market largely mimicked the trends in Europe, where Android held 55.9 per cent of the market share, although this was 4.5 per cent less than the 60.4 per cent market share that the platform held in the same quarter of 2011. Meanwhile, Spain was the market where Android was most dominant, recording a huge 86.8 per cent of market share.

The Symbian platform continued its steady decline worldwide, most noticeably in Brazil, where it saw its 71.7 per cent market share in 2011 drop to just 22 per cent over the course of the year.

Kantar Worldpanel ComTech’s data also revealed that handsets with bigger screens are becoming significantly more popular, with 29 per cent of the Android devices sold in the past 12 weeks having a screen size of over 4.5 inches.

“It is interesting to look at the impact a larger screen size has on how consumers use their smartphones, particularly as the line between tablets and smartphones becomes more blurred,” said Dominic Sunnebo, global consumer insight director at the research firm.

“Consumers who own a smartphone with a larger screen tend to be much more engaged with their device across a whole array of functions.  For example, only 19 per cent of consumers with a screen smaller than three inches download and watch videos, compared to 65 per cent when the screen is five inches or more.”

Sunnebo added that bigger screens don’t just lead to an improved consumer experience; they also play a key part in customer retention.

“ComTech data shows that the more engaged consumers are with their device, the more likely they are to stay loyal to an OS or brand when they upgrade.”

OS (Operating System) Share – Smartphone Sales (Key European Markets):

Other key markets:

Apple has won $1bn in damages from Samsung over the Korean vendor's Android portfolio

The ongoing patent wars between mobile device manufacturers featured a decisive battle late Friday, when the jury deliberating on the argument between US company Apple and South Korea’s Samsung found against the Android-focused firm. The US jury awarded Apple damages of $1bn, after ruling that Samsung did indeed infringe several of Apple’s patented designs and features.

Apple is seeking sales bans on 17 Android devices, continuing the crusade of late Apple leader Steve Jobs to “destroy” the rival operating system.

In another development it emerged during the case that Apple also licensed several of its technologies to Microsoft during the development of the latest Windows Phone software. Leaked memos reveal, however, that Apple refused to strike and settlements with the Android camp out of court.

In the aftermath of the ruling, share price falls cut around $12bn off the face of Samsung’s market value.

Yet the case is far from over. Samsung will of course appeal the ruling, and Google has its own patent infringement lawsuit pending against Apple. So it might be that Apple and the Android camp are forced to reach some kind of cross licensing deal, or even see some of their patents invalidated during the course.

As for the impact on Android itself, software can be re-engineered, and many of the patents at the heart of the Samsung-Apple case were Samsung specific, related to non-standard features and hardware design, which limit the impact on the underlying software.

Apple has unveiled iOS6

Apple has unveiled a new operating system for mobile devices, iOS6, which sees the firm ending its reliance on Google’s mapping software. Instead Apple has created its own mapping application in a move to take more control of the assets on its devices. One analyst warned that this announcement could have a negative knock-on effect on the operator community.

For its new Maps app, Apple has developed and designed its own mapping software from the ground-up, with turn-by-turn navigation and a “Flyover” view, which has interactive 3D photo views, similar to Google’s Street View technology.

The software uses vector-based map elements that allow users to pan, tilt and zoom in on maps, and its navigation capability guides users with spoken directions. The technology also incorporates real-time traffic information and offers alternate time-saving routes if traffic conditions change significantly.

In addition, the technology incorporates local search information for over 100 million businesses worldwide, offering information such as Yelp ratings, reviews, available deals and photos.

Nick Dillon, an analyst in Ovum’s Devices and Platforms team, said that his main observation from the launch of iOS6 is that Apple looking to take full control of all of its assets and all of the services that run on its devices.

“Apple has historically been reliant on third parties to provide a lot of functionality outside of the core phone functionality of their devices and there’s a general trend to bring more of it in-house, such as its iCloud service, and now with its maps. Taking mapping software back from Google was a main objective, because you don’t want to have your main competitor have prime real estate on your handsets.”

He added that this move for full ownership of assets and services will make Apple a less popular brand to deal with from an operator’s point of view.

“This won’t be a good thing for operators, they haven’t got a lot of opportunity to influence Apple devices heavily, they’re very locked down and Apple has a lot of control over its platforms,” explained Dillon. “But this will be a further step, removing any chance of them selling extra services on top of iOS devices.”

Another new feature incorporated into the new operating system is support for FaceTime calls to be made over cellular networks, rather than solely over wifi. However, Bengt Nordström, CEO at consultancy firm Northstream voiced doubts over whether this functionality will actually work.

“3G networks are congested already – most markets simply don’t have the capacity to make it work. Mapping and browsing is often difficult and slow and those aren’t real time point-to-point applications. There are a few countries where the networks are dense enough but, in most cases, the networks will not be able to deliver a satisfying 3G FaceTime experience,” he said.

He added that what the service will show is the real need for LTE.

“Yet the operators will ask: “where is the upside in revenue from this service to justify capex investment in my network?” FaceTime is a good product but it’s a risk to put the user experience in the hands of heavily-loaded 3G networks.”

Other new features incorporated into iOS6 include support for more languages for Siri, Apple’s voice-activated personal assistant tool and the ability to share photo streams via iCloud. Intriguingly, Apple has deepened its integration with Facebook, and the new iOS platform includes Facebook integration for Contacts and Calendar.

“It’s interesting that Apple decided to take a step back and give Facebook more access to the OS and embed itself deeply,” said Ovum’s Dillon. “Apple obviously doesn’t view Facebook as a big a competitor as Google, but that could come back to bite them in the future.”

The iOS 6 beta software and SDK are available immediately for iOS Developer Program members and the full operating system will be available as a free software update for iPhone 4S, iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS, the new iPad, iPad 2 and iPod touch (fourth generation) this autumn.

Facebook will be launching its App Center in the coming weeks

Facebook has announced that it will shortly launch its App Center, a new portal for its users to discover and rate smartphone apps.

Due to be launched “in the coming weeks”, the App Center will showcase iOS, Android and HTML5 apps. Facebook will use indicators such user rating and engagement to select the apps it feels are of the highest quality.

“The App Center is designed to grow mobile apps that use Facebook – whether they’re on iOS, Android or the mobile web,” explained Facebook engineer Aaron Brady in a blog post. “From the mobile App Center, users can browse apps that are compatible with their device, and if a mobile app requires installation, they will be sent to download the app from the App Store or Google Play.”

Eden Zoller, principal analyst at Ovum, believes that discovery of quality apps is an issue facing many smartphone users and although the App Center will not compete directly with Apple and Google’s app portals, the social network could still derive a healthy revenue stream from it.

“Facebook also seems to be selling web-based apps; non platform specific apps based on HTML 5, which it is selling on its own right. I think in that case, it is going to take the 30 per cent customary fee for the paid-for applications,” she said.

She added that it is very likely that Facebook will continue to building on the App Center after launch, particularly as its IPO is imminent and it is under pressure to demonstrate solid revenue streams from mobile use of its products.

“A growing number of Faebook’s users are interacting with the service via mobile devices, which is good, but it’s proving a difficult channel for Facebook to monetise,” Zoller said. “We know that it already sells and provides a lot of applications on the core Facebook platform – very successfully in the case of Zynga, for example, so to do this in a more formal and controlled way makes sense.”

The social network is also promoting its Facebook Credits virtual currency, which lets users buy virtual goods in apps, and one advantage that the Facebook App Center could offer users and developers is flexibility in how apps are purchased.

“Many developers have been successful with in-app purchases, but to support more types of apps on Facebook.com, we will give developers the option to offer paid apps,” said Facebook’s Brady. “This is a simple-to-implement payment feature that lets people pay a flat fee to use an app on Facebook.com. If you are interested in the beta program, please sign up to receive more information.”

Zoller added that Facebook is known to be working with mobile billing solutions provider Bango.

“So presumably there could be initiatives around in-application billing and it could do more around support for operator billing, so I think there is a lot of scope for Facebook in this space,” she added.

Eric Schmidt wants to put a Android phone in your pocket. Though not personally and not for free

Google’s chairman Eric Schmidt has said that there will be an Android device in every pocket if the search and advertising company “gets it right”. Speaking at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Schmidt said that this would be accomplished through significant handset cost reductions, and predicted that this year’s US$400 phone would be next year’s US$100 phone. The aim, he said, was a  US$70 smartphone, as this was an inflection point where a new market of opportunity arose.

The charismatic Google chairman opened his talk with a run through of the main features of Google’s new Chrome browser for Android, and each of its impressive features, such as a link preview pop-up and a stylish tabbed browsing view, were  greeted with Apple-like rapture by a partisan audience.

Schmidt went on to explain that while smartphone marketshare had seen impressive growth, on a global scale the digital divide was still huge as for every person online there were three that were not.

Schmidt predicted that for the privileged few the continuing success of Moore’s law would ensure that the future would bring devices offering effectively unlimited speed and processing power. Such technology would enable projects such as Google’s self-driving cars to become reality, and, rather more bizarrely, robots that could attend rock concerts on your behalf if you can’t attend, which would transmit the experience to you via holo-projections.

He also waxed lyrical about the eventual state of technology to become less important as it integrates seamlessly with people’s lives. “The web will be like everything and like nothing. Like electricity, it will always be there.”

After predicting that there would eventually be an Android phone in every pocket Schmidt explained that even in the absence of internet connectivity, such devices could talk directly to each other via mesh networks, this creating virtual communities, that would act as a “digital watering hole”.

Schmidt also addressed various issues such as the cost of internet access for developing nations, suggesting that the key to doing this was to keep the content as local as possible through caches, due to the last 10 miles of access usually the most expensive part.

He also expressed sympathy with the current plight of telecom operators stating that, “it’s very difficult to be a telecom operator right now. It’s a difficult regulatory environment, difficult to raise your [tariffs] plan and you have to upgrade to 4G when it’s difficult to raise capital. And all the while customers are using enormous amounts of data and governments are charging loads for more bandwidth”. Despite this expression of empathy however, there was no indication that Google would be making any direct financial contribution to ease the plight of operators anytime soon, stating only that Google was, “investing heavily in applications that will drive the excitement about wireless data. That is the only source of growth right now, and the operators will be able to recoup [costs] through this.”

Advice for regulators were also proffered, with Schmidt suggesting that they had, “a tendency to regulate what it happening now rather than the outcome. The unintended cost of regulation is a loss of innovation.”

Schmidt also manged to turn a tense moment into one of mirth following a request from an Iranian audience member to remove the ban on downloading the Chrome browser in his country. Schmidt said that there was nothing he could do as US imposed sanctions tied the hands of the search engine provider and when the person expressed disappointment Schmidt responded, “I’m with you – but in prison – there’s like, no bandwidth.”