CTIA's Wireless Annual Survey Concludes That 'Data' is Where the Growth Is

It's not just China that is seeing a slowdown in smartphone growth. In the U.S. overall smartphone growth fell to less than 10 percent for the first time since the start of the mobile revolution. That's according to a CTIA report which found that minutes of phone use and text messaging barely inched higher in 2015. One statistic that did show massive year-over-year growth — mobile data use — is something of a given and necessitates huge capital spending by carriers even as monthly bills remain roughly flat. On that front, Americans consumed 9.6 trillion megabytes of data, up from 4.1 trillion megabytes in 2014. CTIA's annual wireless industry survey develops industry-wide information drawn from operational member and non-member wireless service providers. It has been conducted since January 1985, originally as a cellular-only survey instrument, and now including PCS, ESMR, AWS and 700 MHz license holders. No break-out of results specific to spectrum bands or licenses is performed. Previously a semi-annual survey, it is now released annually. The information solicited from the service providers includes: direct employment, number of cell sites, total service revenues, capital investment and other metrics. The CTIA survey also develops information on the number of reported wireless subscriber units or "connections" for the responding systems, and an estimated total wireless connections figure (taking into account non-responding systems). Can the increase in data usage offset the slowdown in new smartphone shipments in 2017? Share your predictions with the Smartphone and Tablet Zone: http://smartphoneandtabletzone.blogspot.com/

China's Moxi Group to Introduce New Flexible Touchsceeen Phone

A new device produced by Moxi Group, will feature a flexible touchscreen that still works when looped and worn like a watch or a bracelet, according to the company. It also functions stretched flat, like any other smartphone. The bendy screen uses graphene, the thinnest material in the world that's also strong, light, transparent and flexible. Moxi says it has already produced a prototype of the phone and plans to put 100,000 units on sale in China by the end of this year. It's an impressive feat of innovation if it pulls it off -- no other company is known to have brought a fully bendable smartphone to market. But there's a catch: the phones it intends to release initially will only have black-and-white displays. The company says it's aiming for a full color version, which is more technically challenging to make, by 2018.  Some question the quality of the technology. Roel Vertegaal, director of the Human Media Lab at Canada’s Queen’s University, said if it utilizes e-ink it will be “a real loser.” The color and contrasts will be poor, and it won’t be able to play video. Yu, however, disagrees. He says the company uses the same e-ink used in Kindles, though it’s more advanced than what’s been used before, with enhanced touchscreen capabilities. Will this innovative device provide bone fide value or just be a novelty to Chinese consumers? Send us your comments here at the Smartphone and Tablet Zone: http://smartphoneandtabletzone.blogspot.com/

Introducing the Namotel Achhe Din - India's Least Expensive Smartphone

Namotel promoter Madhava Reddy at a press conference in Bengaluru on Tuesday reportedly marketed the world's cheapest smartphone, the Nametel Achhe Din, for just Rs. 99.While a smartphone is shown alongside the Namotel Achhe Din listing on the company website, the listing also says, "Pictures shown in the website is for illustration purposes only," casting some doubt on the credibility of the company and product. Priced at Rs. 2,999, the 3G-enabled smartphone will reportedly be made available for bookings between May 17 and May 25 at its special launch price. However, the exact booking process is not clear. You need to sign up for a service called BeMyBanker to proceed with the booking, and also to provide details about your Aadhaar and your photograph, but BeMyBanker's website is not loading at present. It is available on a cash-on-delivery basis ​*with "nominal delivery charges." The vendor adds, "This model is limited and it is applicable only for India and who holds Aadhar Identity." The number of units available has not been announced, or precise delivery dates. The company website lists four other smartphones as well, ranging from Rs. 1,999 for the 4G LTE-enabled Aazadi to Rs. 1,99,999 for the VVIP luxury smartphone. As per a PTI report  in the Financial Express, Reddy claimed that at its launch price, the Namotel Achhe Din is the "world's cheapest phone with a 4-inch display". Other specifications include Android 5.1 Lollipop, a 1.3GHz quad-core processor, and 1GB RAM.  Can this device at this price gain rapid adoption in the Indian market? Send us your comments here at the Smartphone and Tablet Zone: http://smartphoneandtabletzone.blogspot.com/

Smartphone Review: Redmi Note 3 for Budget-Minded Buyers

Budget phones usually skimp on storage space, but not the comfortable, 5.5-inch Redmi Note 3. This guy comes with 32GB, and if you need more, you can use one of the phone's dual-SIM slots as a microSD card slot for up to an additional 32GB of storage. Gaming performance was great; I loved the smooth framerates on Asphalt 8 and when switching between apps and sending emails, I rarely experienced any noticeable delay. The Note 3's non-removable battery lasted nearly-14 hours in our video looping battery test; a respectable number for the vast majority of phones. Software wise, Xiaomi's usual MIUI skin runs over the Android 5.1 Lollipop operating system. Since all the app icons spread out across multiple home screens, it looks like a mix of Android and iOS. But other cool features, such as the ability to quickly move all the apps on one screen to the next, and weekly security updates, help make up for the atypical layout. While it isn't standard Android, MIUI does a great job making the phone easy to use, especially with a "Lite mode" which simplifies the interface for not so tech-savvy types. Some key advantages of this phone include: Excellent design and build quality, impressive battery life, very good performance, great software experience, fast and accurate fingerprint reader, includes an IR blaster for controlling household appliances, great sunlight readability and excellent call quality. Prices start around $200. Is this low-end phone all sunshine and lollipops or a rider without a horse? Share your comments here at the Smartphone and Tablet Zone: http://smartphoneandtabletzone.blogspot.com/

IDC Report Captures Smartphone Market Share Trends By OS

Globally the smartphone market grew 13.0% year over year in 2015 Q2, with 341.5 million shipments, according to data from the International Data Corporation Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Phone Tracker. This growth is primarily due to gains experienced in emerging markets such as APEJ and MEA. This quarter's shipments were slightly lower than forecast and IDC expects to see a noticeable slowdown in smartphone shipments in 2015 as China joins North America and Western Europe in a more mature growth pattern. Android dominated the market with an 82.8% share in 2015 Q2. Samsung reasserted its global leadership with a renewed focus on lower-cost smartphones. Android dominated the smartphone market with a share of 82.8%. Samsung, the #1 contributor, had lower volumes QoQ and YoY. iOS saw its market share for 2015Q2 decline by 22.3% QoQ with 47.5 million shipments. Despite the seasonal decline, Apple enjoyed success thanks to consumers' insatiable appetite for the larger screened iOS devices. Windows Phone experienced a QoQ decline of 4.2% with a total of 8.8 million units shipped this quarter. Windows Phone experienced a QoQ decline of 4.2% with a total of 8.8 million units shipped this quarter. Will these market share trends continue in 2016-2017? Share your predictions with the Smartphone and Tablet Zone: http://smartphoneandtabletzone.blogspot.com/

Is Podcast Addict the Best Android Podcast App?

Podcast Addict is a beautiful app because it piles an excellent free service on top of free service — that is, listening to awesome podcasts. Podcast Addict itself is a free download and it lets you search for, download and listen to podcasts (with its integrated audio player), as well as create playlists of the upcoming shows you want to tune in to. What's more, it houses a neat "trending" search feature so you can see what else is currently popular in the podcast world, providing a simple entry point for newcomers. While it's not always the easiest to navigate, it does everything a good Podcast app should do and it does it well. Podcast Addict is a free, ad-supported or paid-for premium podcatcher that may lack a little on the visuals but more than makes up in the features. It'll let you import your feeds from a number of sources but it'll also help you easily find some great new content to listen to. Search by channel, interests and more, and Podcast Addict will come up with the goods. Besides podcasts, though, it'll also let you organize RSS feeds and YouTube channels, which is something competing apps don't offer. It's also got Chromecast support built in, which is fast becoming a must have feature.Let's here from our readers about their preferred podcast apps for Android device. Share your picks with the Smartphone and Tablet Zone: http://smartphoneandtabletzone.blogspot.com/

Smartphone Competition and Lower COGS Put Pressure on Average Selling Prices

To date smartphone leaders Apple and Samsung which dominate the high-end of the global market for feature-rich devices have has pricing power over suppliers and consumers alike. Now that devices announced at the Mobile World Congress are arriving in stores at roughly four times the price of my current phone, they seem a lot less desirable. An unlocked Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge costs a whopping Rs. 56,000 ($840) in India; in the US, the LG G5 is set to go on sale for about $645 next month. The advantages they offer over significantly cheaper models aren’t exactly negligible, but it’s becoming increasingly difficult to justifiy the difference in cost. Good design, snappy performance and commendable build quality – everything we’ve been used to paying top dollar for – are steadily becoming the norm for smartphones, much to the delight of those of us who have to buy phones off contract and unsubsidized. Friends, family and followers often ask me to recommend the next phone they should buy and of late, I’ve been pointing them towards cheaper devices without having to worry if they’ll find it lacking. That doesn’t mean gadget aficionados shouldn’t buy a flagship anymore – if there’s a phone out there that catches your eye and has you reaching for your wallet, go for it. But just know that if you’re low on cash, there are options out there that are almost as good for a fraction of the price. How will these trends affect both consumer demand and vendor profitability? Share your thoughts here at the Smartphone and Tablet Zone: http://smartphoneandtabletzone.blogspot.com/