Cell Phone

Analysts hike estimates of Apple iPhone shipments for the September and December quarters

Aaron Rakers, the Apple analyst at brokerage firm Stifel Nicolaus, has hiked his estimate of iPhone shipments for the quarter that ended last month, and the holiday quarter that ends in December. For the just ended quarter that ended in September, Rakers now expects Apple to say that it delivered 47 million iPhone units versus his previous estimate of 42.2 million iPhone handsets that were in transit during the period.

For the all important holiday quarter, the analyst now sees Apple shipping 76.6 million iPhone units versus his previous call for 69.9 million to be shipped. Rakers has gone from a figure that was less than Wall Street's expectations (75.4 million) to one that is above what the rest of the Street is calling for. Helping the results for the holiday quarter is an extra week ending on New Year's Eve.  

Rakers estimates that with an installed base nearing 700 million iPhone units world wide, 8% to 10% will upgrade to one of the latest models. That means that upgrades will account for 80% of the the 76.6 million iPhone models shipped in the holiday quarter. In December 2014 and 2015, the upgrade rate was 50%.

Also raising her iPhone shipping estimates today is Sherri Scribner of Deutsche Bank. She now expects to see Apple report shipments of 46 million  and 75 million iPhone units for the September and December quarters respectively.

Cell Phone

Samsung releases the Galaxy TabPro S, a Surface Pro 4 competitor in gold

Samsung has released its first new Windows tablet in a long while, the Galaxy TabPro S Gold Edition. A device suitable both for business users and regular consumers, the tablet boasts a detachable keyboard and weights only 1.53 pounds, making it light and portable. Specs-wise, the TabPro S features a 12-inch Super AMOLED display with a 2560 x 1440 resolution. It's powered by an Intel Core M3 6Y30 chipset with its processor clocked to a maximum of 2.20GHz and an Intel HD Graphics 615 unit handling visuals. There are 8GB of RAM and 256GB of SSD storage on board, and the device runs on a 5200mAh battery. Two 5MP cameras adorn the front and back panel, and there's a single USB 3.1 Type-C port for connectivity and charging. The port can be enhanced with a multiport accessory that adds an additional HDMI port and a USB Type-A port for attaching external devices. The base model costs $1000, making it a reasonable choice next to a $900 base model Surface Pro 4 with 4GB of RAM and an Intel Core i3 chipset. However, there's no stylus in the bundle. The TabPro Pen is sold separately for $50. The detachable keyboard is included in the price, though, and features an integrated touchpad, along with a Pogo pin connector that lets the keyboard connet to the tablet without a pairing process or the need for charging. The accessory also comes with a flexible hinge, letting users position the screen as they see fit.
Cell Phone

Tim Cook meets Nintendo executives in Japan, gets to play a preview of the first Mario iOS game

Perhaps the biggest cheer at the event held last month by Apple to introduce the new iPhone models, came when it was announced that Mario would be making his first appearance in an iOS game. Apple CEO Tim Cook got to play a preview of Super Mario Run when he took some time to meet with Nintendo executives yesterday.

Cook is in Japan this week having arrived from Shenzhen, China. There, he announced Apple's plans to open an R&D center in the country sometime in 2017. China remains a very important market for the tech titan, and building the R&D center allows Apple to show the Chinese government how serious it is about growing its business there.

In Japan on Wednesday, Cook disseminated a tweet which included a picture showing the executive playing Super Mario Run. Cook was sampling the game while Mario's famous creator Shigeru Miyamoto looked on. The endless runner game allows you to earn coins as Mario runs over obstacles. The longer you touch the screen, the higher the iconic Nintendo character jumps. The game is expected to launch this holiday season as a paid app.

Cell Phone

print promises to honor the replacement of all Galaxy Note 7 units to any other device

Now that Samsung announced it has stopped the sales and production of the Galaxy Note 7, we're waiting to see how the South Korean company will handle the recall of the all the units it sold until recently.

Since the handset maker confirmed it has talked to carriers and retail partners to prevent them from providing customers with Galaxy Note 7 replacement units, it will be very interesting to see what incentives Samsung plans to offer to its most loyal fans.

Sprint seems to be one of the first major carriers in the United States to update its Samsung Galaxy Note 7 exchange process. This means that if you've bought the Galaxy Note 7 through Sprint's official channels, you will now be able to replace it with a different smartphone, regardless of when you've purchased your device.


Furthermore, Sprint informs customers that it will honor the replacement of all Samsung Galaxy Note 7 phones to any other devices, “regardless of condition and return policy.” Here is what you must do in order to quickly exchange your Samsung Galaxy Note 7.

First of all, you'll have to make an appointment at Sprint's online website to avoid lines, but walk-in appointments are also available. You can then turn in your Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphone.

After that, you will have to work with a Sprint rep to select a new device. Keep in mind though that “you may be entitled to a refund if you choose a less expensive device or additional funds may be required” if you decide to go for a more expensive phone.

Last but not least, Sprint confirmed that customers who choose to move to a Samsung Galaxy S7 or S7 edge will also receive a $25 service credit on their bill (within up to 3 billing cycles). Naturally, all upgrade, activation and restock fees will be waived for all customers.

Cell Phone

A pair of trademark applications confirm a dual camera setup for the Samsung Galaxy S8

In South Korea, Samsung has filed for a couple of trademarks that might confirm the use of a dual camera setup on the Samsung Galaxy S8. As we told you earlier today, a new teaser suggests that Samsung's next flagship handset will be unveiled on February 26th. The trademarks being applied for include one called LightUp Camera. The second application is for a trademark with the name of Light+ Camera.

The registrations for both names say that the trademark covers a "Camera Sensor for use in enhancing the brightness and clearness of digital images and photographs taken in low-light environments." That description sounds exactly like one a phone manufacturer might give as an explanation why a second camera has been placed on the rear of a handset.

Another clue is the stylized 8 seen in a teaser for the Galaxy S8 that we recently showed you. It doesn't take much imagination to turn the number into a vertically placed dual camera setup. Not that this would be much of a surprise. After all, dual cameras are this year's fingerprint scanner. The latter was once a rarity, then found on a few handsets, and now they are ubiquitous. Next year, dual camera setups could be everywhere.

Cell Phone

LG shames Samsung over exploding Galaxy Note 7 phones

LG is one of the last companies to take a jab at Samsung over the Galaxy Note 7 issues that doesn't seem to end, even though the South Korean handset maker has already kicked off the global recall of the faulty units.

Unfortunately, it looks like even the Galaxy Note 7 replacement units that Samsung has started to deliver last month continue to have issues. It's unclear whether it's the new battery inside these phones or these case of smoking phones are simply bad luck.

Nevertheless, LG simply couldn't stay away and joined the Galaxy Note 7 saga with its own remarks. LG smartphone users living in India started to receive messages on their phones that mock Samsung.

 


Diwali is an ancient Indian festival celebrated in autumn or spring. This year, Diwali will take place on October 30, but LG has decided to start sending best wishes to its consumers three weeks earlier, and take a jab at Samsung in the process.

Here is the message that many Indian customers received in the last couple of days: “Heard the news of exploding products? At LG, our products go through multiple tests to ensure safety of our most valuable asset - YOU. Have a safe Diwali with LG.”

Motorola did a similar thing about two months ago, but the Lenovo-owned company posted a message on Twitter instead of being so intrusive as LG.

On a side note, one of the reasons that LG is running this aggressive campaign against Samsung might be the fact that the company plans to launch the V20 in India very soon. Still, it's a bit low for LG to send these messages to consumers wishing them a safe Diwali while shaming Samsung.

Cell Phone

Apple iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus ready to move up the list of active Apple handsets

Mobile engagement platform Localytics has been tracking the usage of various iPhone models. According to the most recent data, the new Apple iPhone 7 and Apple iPhone 7 Plus are already more popular than the Apple iPhone SE. The latter represents 2.6% of active iPhone models in use, while the recently launched iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus represent a full percentage point more of active iPhones at 3.6%. We can break that down some more. The iPhone 7 makes up 2.7% of active iPhone handsets in use, while the iPhone 7 Plus accounts for .9% of active iPhone units. The most popular active iPhone models right now are the Apple iPhone 6 and Apple iPhone 6 Plus with a combined 38.3% of iPhone units now being used. The phones are old enough to have generated several years' worth of sales, but aren't too old as to be irrelevant. Next is the Apple iPhone 6s and Apple iPhone 6s Plus with 27.5% of active iPhone usage. The Apple iPhone 5 series accounts for 24.4% of the iPhone models in use today. That drops off sharply to the 3.7% usage generated by the Apple iPhone 4 and Apple iPhone 4s. As the next few months play out, we should see the usage attributable to the iPhone 7 models grow and overtake the iPhone 4 units. The current front runners (the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus) will decline, making up a smaller percentage of active iPhone models, and the iPhone 6s and iPhone 6s Plus will take over the lead.
Cell Phone

New LG V20 promo video shows how the Signature Wallpaper feature works

The LG V20 is almost here. It's launching in South Korea (LG's home country) this week, and should be available to pre-order in the US starting October 2. Until you get the chance to try the new handset for yourself, you may want to check out one of its new features: Signature Wallpaper.

We're not sure we'd include Signature Wallpaper on a list of features to be truly excited about, but LG thinks it's important enough to have its own promo video, which you can watch below. A Signature Wallpaper is a lock screen wallpaper that includes the first character of your signature on V20's secondary display. Just like on the LG V10, you can set a signature for the ticker screen of the V20 - basically, this signature is a text of your own choice that shows up when the screen is off. Not terribly useful, but we guess it's still nice to have.

When you set up a Signature Wallpaper, you can choose various backgrounds for it to make it look the way you want. All in all, this is a quick way to personalize your V20. The LG V20 will be available in the US unlocked, as well as via all major carriers. The handset seems to be a worthy successor to last year's V10, and you can find out more about it from our LG V20 preview.

Cell Phone

iOS 10 has now reached almost half of compatible devices

Almost 50 per cent of iPhone, iPad and iPod touch owners that can run iOS 10 are now doing so, according to new figures. iOS 10 is was rolled out just over two weeks ago with a bunch of new features and performance tweaks and now, stats firm Mixpanelhas discovered that 48.16 per cent of iOS 10-ready gadget owners have taken the plunge. 

 
Since Apple's iOS updates needn't sing to the tune of carriers or third-party OEMs à la Android, owners of iOS 10-ready devices have been eligible for the update from the moment Cupertino rolled it out. Uptake has once again been impressive if slightly slower than last year's, but there's another secret behind Apple's success in this regard. Those still lagging behind are generally met with a barrage of pop-up reminders to get them to update and while it's not too bothersome at first, it quickly gets old. Thus, we expect this figure to continue rising as Apple aims to repeat iOS 9's impressive 9-in-10 adoption.
 
 
 
While these figures suggest Apple is struggling to get users on board as quickly as it did with iOS 9, Mixpanel's estimates are not official .Still, the same company reported last week that around one-third had made the leap to iOS 10-dom, and with 47.79 per cent of devices said to be running iOS 9, it seems the latest version has finally become the majority stakeholder. 
 
If you're running iOS 10, be sure to check out our walkthrough of the new and hidden features therein.
Cell Phone

LG reportedly postpones the launch of its LG Pay system to 2017

Korean media NewsOne reports that LG has postponed the launch of its LG Pay mobile payments service for 2017, due to problems encountered during testing. Reportedly, the company wanted to introduce LG Pay together with its second major smartphone launch this year, the LG V20, which will go on sale in South Korea on September 29. But LG cancelled its plans, despite having completed development of the payment technology.

LG wants to pair LG Pay with an universal payment "White Card", a physical card with credit and debit card information contained on it. It connects to smartphones via NFC and supports IC and mag-stripe payments. However, the White Card hasn't been commercialized in Korea before, and LG encountered errors during testing the payment system. Moreover, it hasn't filled for regulatory approval of the service yet.

 LG Pay was announced in March last year and was scheduled to roll out this year. Since then, LG has been keeping its lips tight about it. Hopefully, the company will manage to deliver a competitor to Samsung Pay and Apple Pay in 2017.

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